The Details Matter: A Summary of Research on School Choice Policy and Implementation

September 21, 2026 | By Douglas N. Harris, Danielle Sanderson Edwards, Julie A. Marsh

REACH has been working for almost a decade to better understand different forms of school choice and their impact on student experiences and outcomes. In "The Details Matter: A Summary of Research on School Choice Policy and Implementation", Douglas N. Harris, Danielle Sanderson Edwards, and Julie A. Marsh bring together nearly a decade of REACH research, along with evidence from 90 additional high-quality studies, to examine nine key policy elements that shape how school choice works in practice. The report finds that the details of how school choice policies are designed and implemented matter for understanding their effects on students, families, and communities.