A Republican’s perspective: Why school choice is NOT the solution

Let me explain why I, a conservative Republican, believe the legislature should abandon ‘school choice’ and focus on real solutions to equitable funding and meaningful accountability for public education this session.

This is what it boils down to: taking tax payer $$ from school districts to pay individuals/corporations/schools in the name of ‘school choice’ is only fair if ALL entities are playing by the same rules.

You probably don’t need me to tell you that the Texas Legislature saddles local districts with immense, often vague requirements, and unfair and antiquated funding. A vast majority of these requirements are based on the legislature providing a solution to real or perceived problems in one part of the state once upon a time — which is not in and of itself a bad thing. The issue is that in many cases the time and energy (aka $$) the local districts must invest to interpret and implement the requirements creates more problems than the original.

Enter fiscally conservative, “back to the basics”, “reduce government size” legislators to save the day. Unfortunately, most of them see public education as an unnecessary evil. They see fat cats working the system and overspending who need to be brought into check. There is no doubt abuses happen, but should the rules be written for the exception or the rule?

In its current form, ‘school choice’ is NOT the free market answer. The biggest problem with touting school choice as a solution — the playing field must be level. No government intervention (externalities for the economists) is a basic tenet of the free market system. Ironically, government intervention in public schools is at the root of many of the issues which make alternatives attractive.

Public schools must follow the laws of WHO to teach (every single child in our district), WHAT to teach (TEKS), and HOW and WHEN to assess the learning (STAAR). Please don’t get me wrong, none of these are necessarily bad! However, tying funding to these tenets creates a focus and tension that can be unhealthy.

The concern with school choice comes with giving taxpayer dollars to public school alternatives that are not under these same requirements. Without these requirements, public schools could be much more creative, meet more personal needs and interests of students, and focus more on real world skills necessary to be successful in the global economy.

We must consider that though the interpretation and implementation are filled with potholes, the initial idea was sound — to provide a uniform education for all Texas children. And without some accountability, how can we ensure Texas students will have a common, effective education foundation?

Non-public education entities provide an alternative to public schools that allow non-public schools the luxury to choose WHO and HOW they educate and determine WHAT the students have learned in any way they deem appropriate. Private and home schools answer only to their board and/or end users, a benefit they enjoy by not taking tax dollars which inherently (and rightly) have strings attached. If non-public education entities receive tax dollars, then they owe transparency to taxpayers. To consider a system where tax dollars are diverted from public school districts to entities that have little to no accountability is to support taxation without representation, crony capitalism and corruption. For “school choice” to be considered a viable, free market option, any education entity receiving tax dollars must be held to the same standards of accountability.

Please encourage your legislator to focus this session on real solutions to the school funding and accountability issues. And discourage them from hiding behind the trendy mantra (straw man) of “school choice” as an excuse to allocate education funds to entities that are not held to the SAME level of accountability as public schools.

Join me in real conversations with each other and with lawmakers about how we can make our schools better. Let’s end ‘because that’s the way we’ve always done it’. Let’s make certain ALL students know HOW to learn by understanding the past, following patterns to create their own solutions and expressing their ideas. Let’s ensure students graduate high school ready to succeed in college, military, trade school or jobs. Let’s heed Thomas Jefferson’s guidance to focus education on enabling every person to judge when their freedom is endangered.

How to find your state legislators:

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Zip.aspx

House Education Committee

http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/committee/?committee=400

Senate Education Committee

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/commit/c530/c530.htm