School Choice Is The Catch-All Solution To Public Education’s Endless Problems

In the last decade, there has been a revolution in school choice that allows parents to have unprecedented control.

Three years after the coronavirus first arrived on American shores, millions of American students continue to suffer from record levels of learning loss. After teachers’ union leaders Lobbied for schools to be locked down Many children have been playing for many months. Academically, I have regressed in ways we’re still uncovering. National School Choice Week highlighted one solution last week. It aims to empower parents and not the union bosses to run the American educational system.

School choice operates under a single premise: Parents know their child’s unique needs, wants, desires, and learning interests better than anyone else. There are no two children the same, so parents need to be advocates for their child by choosing the best curricular program.

Students can choose to study in the public or private sector. Students can choose to enroll in a public school that is not within their immediate neighborhood. Others may choose charter schools, which are public schools that are funded by taxpayer dollars and have greater flexibility than traditional district schools.

For some students, magnet schools offering intensive curriculums in one subject like science or art might be the best fit. Some children might be more comfortable learning online or via virtual learning. Opportunity scholarship programs are also available in many states. These allow families to choose the best school for their needs.

Arizona was the first to create it. In 2011 for special needs children, Education Savings Accounts provide parents with a percentage of the funds that the state would have spent on a child’s education. Those funds get placed into an account that the family can use for any combination of educational expenses they desire — from textbooks to extra one-on-one counseling to tuition at an independent school.

Since the creation ESAs Seven other states More people have adopted this concept. Follow suit In legislative sessions this year. The original idea behind this initiative was to provide flexible funding for special education lessons that public schools are often unable to offer. Arizona passed the universal ESA law last January, despite the fact that ESA was initially started by parents with special needs children.

During the pandemic, when unelected officials and union leaders were able close schools and stop millions of children from attending in-person education, all of the flaws inherent to a one size fits all approach to education was demonstrated. School choice provides the best solution by putting the power in the educational system back where it belongs — with parents.

Millions of Americans celebrated National School Choice Week from Jan. 22 to 28, at thousands of events across the country. Many of those were Events Included school fairs for parents to find out about the high-quality educational options in their local area. If you have young nieces or nephews, these fairs are a great way to get information about the quality education options available in your area.