Position: Education

I support the availability of the option of school vouchers for every American family. Diversity makes America great. Competition makes enterprises stronger. Education would be no exception. With increased educational diversity and competition, American children will be much better educated at a greatly reduced cost to government.

Educational expenses create the largest tax burden for State and local governments. School vouchers will be a win-win for State governments and local districts. First, vouchers allow for a diversity of educational excellence. In addition, competition for school dollars will create a cost consciousness that will reduce educational costs. Superior education for less taxation – this is what we should expect of government.

The problem with school vouchers is purely political. Democrats are beholden to the NEA union and the NEA is afraid of any competition. The NEA would much prefer to hold a monopoly on the education of your children. Of course, the results of that monopoly are devastating to the concept of excellence in education. In addition, Democrats consider public education to be a political tool for indoctrination of students. The public school system has determined that your child will get a taste of its humanistic viewpoints regarding God (shameful to discuss), Sex Education (condoms are good), and a litany of liberal do-gooder topics such a Global Warming (unfounded science) and Evolution (we’re all monkeys on the inside).

There simply must be an alternative to public education that is available and affordable for everybody. While this is especially true in poor performing schools, it is also true universally. For many parents, the public school system runs counter to their basic values. They must and should be allowed an alternative.

I also support voucher payments for homeschooling. Homeschool parents have consistently shown that they can provide a superior education at low cost. Since that is the goal of spending public money on education, homeschool parents certainly meet the criteria for payment. In fact, voucher payments for homeschooling would allow many more parents to stay home and school their children. This would create healthier family dynamics as well as superior education models.

(I would support requiring homeschool children to pass, on the same grading scale as public school, the State’s standardized test as a condition of receiving vouchers in order to show satisfactory academic progress. I would not support any more stringent verification. The point of homeschooling is to get the government out of a child’s education.)

I would also support requiring school districts to allow homeschooled children within their district to participate in school sanctioned extra-curricular activities, such as sports and arts. Homeschooled parents, through their tax dollars, pay for the creation of such activities and should not be denied participation as punishment for providing a superior education to their children. Indeed, parents – and children – should be rewarded for homeschooling. You get what you encourage and what you get with homeschooling is excellent education. It should be further encouraged, in every way possible.

I start with the assumption that a parent wants what is best for their children. If you give parents the freedom to choice, they will consistently make the best choices for their children. Many public school systems are excellent, and that’s fine, so far as it goes. Allowing school vouchers can only make those institutions even better.

To the extent that low performing public schools would be at risk for rampant flight if school vouchers were made available: good. In my opinion, concerns about what vouchers would do to the public school system points out the weakness of the public school system – not vouchers.

I support innovation and excellence in schooling at the best possible price for taxpayers. I support allowing parents to educate their children with their values in mind. I support competition and diversity in education. I support school vouchers.