| Educating young people is a major responsibility of adult society. It is a service that deals directly and intimately with people. An aspect of the broad education reform arena is the school choice issue. School choice correlates to past, current, and future educational reform efforts. It embodies budgeting, and budgeting is all about governing.;This study identifies traditional as well as emerging variables that dictate the way that the federal government sets policies and authorizes appropriations. It differentiates what education experts or elites consider significant in deciding policy and allocating funding from what federal policymakers consider significant. The intersections between the two spheres of influence are demonstrative of the volatility existing in this field of study.;The question that this study addresses is if emerging variables in education reform have effectuated a paradigm shift in the way the federal government establishes policies and authorizes funding for elementary and secondary education.;Relevant theories representing diverse stakeholders' perspectives are presented as a way of helping us to understand and clarify the who, what, and why concerning this issue. Political stances are conveyed. The roles of local, state, and federal governments are specified. The influence of the Courts and the Nation's finances as it relates to funding elementary and secondary education is expostulated. A variety of other factors impacting how education reform has developed in this Nation are explored. Evidence of a shifting paradigm as well as a future trajectory is examined. |
