You've got two choices:
Isolated, localized stupidity, or national-level stupidity.
There isn't really a third option.
Your idea isn't bad (especially the lottery part), but still assumes a "they" acting as gatekeepers somewhere along the line.
In that paper the authors identify one big problem: a system of textbook selection that basically drives small competitors off the market and creates an artificial near-monopoly. Competition and free choice are still the best solutions.