SAN ANTONIO – School choice is a debate not new to the education system and it's once again in the spotlight during National School Choice week.
Thousands rallied at the state Capitol in Austin Tuesday to show their support for expanding school choice options.
Texas state law already allows public school open enrollment, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning and homeschooling freedom, according to schoolchoiceweek.com.
However, private school choice isn't currently an option in Texas, which would offer scholarships, tax reductions or educational savings accounts tied to students but managed by parents.
Those attending IDEA Mays are there because their parents chose the public charter school over any other educational institution.
"When I went to public schools I wasn't really challenged. I was taught things that I sort of already have learned," sixth-grader William Hoffmann said. He's also been homeschooled before.
Second-grader Camila De Leon likes learning based on her skill set.
"I'm in third-grade material and what I like about it is that we learn a lot of science stuff and I really like science," De Leon said.
Assistant Principal of Instruction Jessica Baumer said there's high demand for IDEA Public Schools' rigorous curriculum, paid for by state and private dollars.
"This year at Mays alone we had 12 percent of our scholars that came to us on track and on grade level in first grade and within the short amount of months that we've been open we've been able to more than double that percentage. We're currently at 38 percent," Baumer said.
Whenever IDEA Public Schools receives more applications than spots available, students are randomly selected to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to attend. The deadline to apply for the 2017-18 school year is Jan. 27. A blind lottery will be held Saturday, Jan. 28, to determine which students will fill spots available at each IDEA school.
The purpose of National School Choice week is to educate the community about all educational choices, including but not limited to: public schools, private schools, charter management organizations, homeschooling and online learning.
Opponents of private school choice legislation believe it could hurt public schools.
"I think it depends on the details of what that legislation looks like," Northside Independent School District Superintendent Brian Woods said. "If that legislation looks like vouchers, like giving public tax dollars to folks to spend in non-public institutions, private schools, parochial schools, then the answer clearly is yes (it would hurt public schools)."
Woods' message to parents is to look at the public, neighborhood school. He believes people will find that the quality of what's going on there is a lot better than what's portrayed.
With backing from both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, advocates of school choice feel closer than ever to seeing private school choice become law.