Our findings bring attention to the need to pay closer attention to policy landscapes at the subnational level given that discussions of the broader national policy contexts can obscure important variation at more local levels of governance.

We propose a novel framework for understanding such variation by classifying each subnational unit along a spectrum of choice based on the degree to which states accommodate groups-based and individual parent demand.

Interestingly, there are numerous instances in which the education regimes of some subunits within a given country actually share more in common with those of another country than with their own subnational neighbours.

Although nearly all subunits have witnessed rising levels of choice since the 1980s, the growth of this choice has occurred to a more significant degree across a number of Australian states, Canadian provinces, and England relative to the German states, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Drawing on the findings of four indices of school choice policy, we outline the degree to which the implementation of policies expanding/restricting choice within the education system have developed throughout all subnational units of each country.

We examine the development of school choice policies over the 1980-2020 period within the subnational units of four countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK.