Introduction: In 2023 the Hoover Institution at Stanford University convened a group of innovation leaders to take stock of K–12 public education in the United States. The Education Futures Council quickly focused on designing a new approach for America’s traditional public school system. Schools operated and overseen by local school boards―often called “traditional” or “district” schools―enroll 75 percent of all students in the United States and will continue to be a prominent part of the education landscape no matter what other schooling choices exist.