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School choice on trial

By The Bluegrass Institute

School-choice opponents are turning to the courts to protect their own self-centered interests at the expense of genuine education reform.

Antagonists have advanced a legal challenge of Florida’s A+ Opportunity Scholarship Program to the Sunshine State’s Supreme Court. Thus far detractors have been unable to discredit the improved test scores and graduation rates that the program has produced. Instead, they have resorted to legal arguments designed to deny parents this valuable choice.

For instance, opponents claim that Florida’s scholarship program violates the Blaine amendment. This is an arcane 19^th century issue regarding the separation of church and state that the Supreme Court has already said was not relevant to Ohio’s voucher program.

The court has ruled that instead of being a government promotion of religion, school-choice programs involve “true private choice” because scholarships go directly to parents who use the funds at their discretion. The court has indicated that parents, not governments, are making the choice and that any gain for religious institutions is incidental.

The purpose of Florida’s scholarships is not to aid religious institutions. Rather, it is to improve the quality of public schools.

School-choice opponents also cite the constitutional provision requiring Florida to make “adequate provision” for “a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools.” But “uniform” doesn’t mean identical. Establishing a public-school system is not a mandate for government to concern itself with only providing access to public schools.

It’s clear that teachers unions and their allies are not nearly as concerned about protecting the constitution as they are in maintaining their opposition to accountability and competition. 

Giving Floridians more educational liberty has resulted in dramatic improvement at previously failing schools. Its scholarship program provides further confirmation that competition benefits all students – those who transfer to a school that better meets their needs and those who choose to stay put.

Sources:

"Choice under fire, yet again" by George F. Will, Newsweek   

"School choice threatened" by Star Parker, Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education

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