Tens of thousands of parents recently received notification that school registration for the upcoming school year has opened in Israel. In most cases, parents were requested to register their children at the elementary school their local authority placed them in. In the Binyamin region, for instance, while parents may choose a religious track, they are not not allowed to choose whether their kids study in Eli or Shiloh if they live in Kfar Haroeh. The local authority apparently knows better than they what’s best for them.
Unnoticed, an important- not to say critical – decision is taken away from parents, as local authorities decide instead of them which school their children will attend. “Tell me where you live, and I’ll tell you which school your kids will be placed in”. Hard as it is to believe, in Israel 2026 local authorities decide in which elementary schools to place the children of 66% of parents. In contrast to the rest of the Western world, only one third of local authorities allow parents a choice between schools. Most OECD countries today allow parents to register their children in any school they prefer.
Already back in 2005, a government committee recommended that the education system allow parental choice. Since then, the Ministry of Education established a department dedicated to encouraging local authorities to allow school choice; encouraging schools to develop specialties; and granting parents and children the freedom to choose according to their preferences: Is the child better suited to a small or large school? A school specializing in the arts or in science? What sort of teaching staff do the parents trust? Is proximity to home important or do they not mind travel?
One third of local authorities that joined the Education Ministry’s “controlled choice” program allow parents school choice at registration. These authorities are privileged to move the education system forward in their own jurisdictions. The Talmudic dictum that “Jealousy among writers increases wisdom” proves true in this case. Studies demonstrate that choice encourages competition between schools; enhances parent, staff and student satisfaction; lowers the level of school violence; improves achievements; and enables diversity in education.
The lack of choice characterizing the Israeli education system has many negative effects, the most painful of which is its impact on weaker populations. Research in Israel and abroad shows that when students from weaker neighborhoods are forced to stay and study in local elementary schools, the detrimental results are almost inevitable. Unfortunately, the correlation between socioeconomic level and scholastic achievement is found to exist in Israel over and over. In contrast, parental choice creates mobility and closes social and pedagogical gaps.
Freedom of choice is as necessary for the education system as oxygen is for breathing. Parents’ freedom to choose their children’s school is extremely basic, yet it is stolen away from far too many of them. Historically, demands for freedom and choice rise from the people. It is time parents in Israel demand the freedom to choose what’s best for their children. The reality in which local authorities direct parents to register their children in a preselected school is not preordained. Things can be different.
