School choice has been a hot topic in Arizona over the past several months, as critics of a plan to expand the state’s school voucher program collected enough signatures to refer the new law to the ballot.

A lawsuit challenging that effort is pending. But, new research shows a lot of Arizona families are making choices when it comes to their kids’ education that have nothing to do with vouchers.

The research comes from a PhD student at Yale and the Center for Student Achievement.

It finds that nearly half of Maricopa County students are not going to their assigned neighborhood school.

Ildi Laczko-Kerr is the chief academic officer for the Arizona Charter Schools Association and operates the Center for Student Achievement.