Good news for New York City parents looking to choose the best possible education for their children: The federal government took a red pen to Title IX. The changes were announced Wednesday, when the Department of Education proposed new rules to give public schools more freedom than they’ve had in a generation to teach boys and girls in separate classrooms and schools.

Until now, under the 1972 law, public schools are forbidden from allowing single-sex classes except in special cases like gym classes that involve contact sports — and districts are prohibited from creating single-sex schools unless equivalent schools for the other gender are established.

As a result of those restrictions, there are just 25 single-sex public schools in the country. Among them are the Young Women’s Leadership School in Harlem and the Brighter Choice charter schools, a pair of single-sex schools in Albany.

Choice is the operative word here. Right now, there is far too little of it for parents and children in New York City’s public schools. No one is talking about forcing parents or children into single-sex schools. But under the new rules, those parents who believe their children are more likely to excel in a same-sex environment would at least be more likely to have that option available to them.

Perhaps they seek the discipline, perhaps the intra-gender bonding, perhaps the confidence that may come with a child being out of eye and earshot of the opposite sex in their formative years. Maybe they hope their daughter will turn out like Wellesley graduates Hillary Clinton, Diane Sawyer, or Madeleine Albright. Or maybe they’re just old-fashioned. That’s for parents to choose.

Some liberal interest groups are predictably livid about the proposed changes to Title IX. LaShawn Warren, an ACLU counsel, said in a statement, “Women in America currently enjoy more opportunity than they ever have in the history of this nation. This progress to equality could not have been possible without laws like Title IX — we should not weaken it without a truly compelling reason.”

Well, how’s this for a compelling reason: The public education monopoly stifles innovation and stymies achievement. And countless boys and girls are likely to learn better if their parents are given some measure of control over where and how their children are schooled.