"Two Decades of Choice" from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In the mid-1990s, an idea had taken root in the minds of some Pennsylvania political leaders and wasn't letting go.

Fresh off a failed attempt to create a statewide school vouchers program, Gov. Tom Ridge and fellow supporters of school choice turned to charter schools as a backup plan for education reform. After months of meetings and rigorous lobbying, the state Legislature approved the Pennsylvania Charter School Law in June 1997.