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Let's be honest about 'school choice' - it isn't really about choice
01/25/2016

 

school_privatization.jpgAs school choice advocates, and their out-of-state corporate sponsors, celebrate National School Choice Week, it’s good to remember what “school choice” really means. School choice means transferring public money, responsibility, transparency, and education to the private sector.

 

Vouchers take dollars from our public schools to fund private schools at taxpayer expense.

 

Instead of taking funding from our local public schools and handing it to private schools, which have little or no accountability to taxpayers, we should invest in strategies that we know improve the success of all of our students, such as smaller class sizes, parental involvement and more learning and training opportunities for teachers.

 

A new initiative pushed by the Institute for Quality Ed, and supporters of education “reform”, includes education savings accounts (ESAs). These are a version of vouchers that would pay parents all—or a large portion—of the money the state would otherwise have spent to educate their child. Additionally, it would authorize parents to use it on a variety of approved expenses, including private school tuition. In exchange, parents agree to forego the right to a public education.

 

ESAs aren’t new. They have been implemented in Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arizona and Nevada. It’s a law advanced by the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

 

In addition to the substantial fiscal cost to the state, the bill would be a major blow to public schools and open the door to financial fraud and abuse, as has occurred in other states with similar programs. A prime example from Arizona is when a mother used her son’s ESA to obtain an abortion and purchase flat screen TVs. 

 

HB 1311 and SB 397, under consideration this legislative session, would create an ESA program in Indiana.

 

Students’ chances for success should not depend on a savings account, winning a charter lottery, affording private school, or living in the right zip code. If we’re serious about the success of all our students, we should ensure they all have the support they need, more one-one-one attention, and well-rounded curricula.