Should Cities and States Adopt School Voucher Programs?

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Parents know what is best for their children and should have the freedom choose the best school for them, whether that school is public or private.  Parents are the ones who raise children, not the government.  So why does a local government get to decide which school a child should go to?  The bottom line is, each child is different, and each family needs adequate choices to enable them to meet their own unique needs.  

Many parents today already make educational choices when they decide which school district to live in or to send their child to a charter school or a private school at their own expense.  But many low-income families in our country’s urban centers do not have the luxury of being able to move or afford private school tuition.  These parents desperately want to make choices for their children, but often lack the resources necessary to be able to make those choices.  

Adversaries often argue that low-income families, even if given a choice, are not qualified to make adequate educational choices for their children.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  Georgetown University’s third report on the Washington, DC Opportunity Scholarship Program reveals that the low-income families whose children participate in the program are becoming better consumers of education, focusing more on their children’s academic development.  Additionally, the first set of reports from a five year evaluation of the Milwaukee voucher program for low-income children shows parental satisfaction to be very high, with educational quality being the most important characteristic parents consider when choosing a school for their child.  

Others argue that rather than giving parents choices, the focus should be on improving public schools.  But even if other much needed reforms are implemented in public schools, it doesn’t negate the fact that parents know their kids best.  All parents must be empowered with the opportunity to choose the education that they know is best for their child, whether it is at a public school, charter school, private school, or home school.