Education voucher programs are a growing option states are turning to amid deep distrust for public school systems under the authority of the U.S. Department of Education.
School choice has long been a debate between policymakers, but the root of the issue is parents. Should parents be allowed to choose where their children go to school, or should the government direct them to certain schools?
It’s the same basis as the Convention of States movement: Who decides? The people in their respective states or some far away D.C. bureaucrats?
Baltimore public schools, as a recent example, are failing to proficiently teach the majority of their students, according to the Maryland State Department of Education's 2022 state test results. Zero students in 23 different Baltimore public schools are proficient in math, the data finds. Additionally, 93% of third through eighth graders tested below grade level in the same subject.
Most students in Maryland are not given alternatives if they wish to opt out of their designated school district.
As schools push leftist theories in education materials while also failing to meet basic educational standards, many communities are happily in support of school choice.
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signed into law the Students First Act, which will provide Iowa families with education savings accounts (ESAs) worth $7,600 annually. The funds can be used for private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, curricular materials, and other education-related expenses.
West Virginia and Arizona have already implemented publicly-funded education choice programs for all K-12 students as well, and states like Texas could be next.
“That must change this year,” Abbott said last week of parents concerned with remote learning and woke agendas in schools. “The way to do that is with school choice, through state-funded Education Savings Accounts.”
School choice is a topic that directly ties into self-governance and the ability to make decisions for one's own family. Each state has the ability to give its residents school choice benefits with or without funding. Republican-led states are taking the lead in offering parents state-allocated funds to decide for themselves where their children will learn.
Baltimore's parents are angry, as Fox News spotlighted. One parent called the results “frustrating” because leadership blames it on racism, adding that the city has “had Democratic leadership for decades. The people here in power look like me and everything's blamed on racism."
School choice is a decision made by each individual state, yet President Biden is opposed to the idea. It reveals a more intimidating force within the federal government over education – something that was intended to be a state-level issue.
It all comes down to the question, who decides? Not just with education but also with finances, regulations, and lifestyle.
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