The Californians will vote on Proposition 174 which will amend the state constitution to establish "scholarships" for kindergarten to 12th-grade schooling. These new schools will be publicly funded but may have privately selected governing boards and religious orientation. It is unclear whether they will be public or private schools. The paper attempts to reduce uncertainty regarding the financial consequences of the proposed voucher plan and address questions about public costs and possible cost savings.

PACE has analyzed the financial, legal, and social ramifications of Proposition 174, the school choice initiative, so as to provide Californians and policymakers with accurate, unbiased information. This packet contains important questions and answers about the initiative, summaries of PACE's financial analysis and polling report, and background information on PACE and its directors.

The "Parental Choice in Education Initiative" or Proposition 174, will be voted on by Californians on November 2, 1993. PACE has conducted an analysis of the initiative's provisions to provide objective information to policymakers, parents, educators, and the public. PACE is not taking a stance on the initiative but has produced additional materials related to the initiative and the issue of school choice. These materials are listed in the attached report on school choice.

California's education reform strategy includes creating high-quality curriculum frameworks to upgrade K-12 education, which raise expectations for students' knowledge and understanding of language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social science. The frameworks focus on learning for understanding, problem-solving, and applying knowledge to real-life situations. The goals are to produce students who know how to learn, analyze issues, solve problems, and apply their knowledge to real-world problems.

California's public school student achievement is improving but still has a ways to go to meet world class standards. Increasing enrollments, declining revenues, and political issues are distracting from education reform. This policy brief seeks to bring attention to building public visibility and political consensus around national strategies for accelerating education reform. The message is not that California's public education system will be subordinated to a monolithic national reform effort.