State-run school systems don’t need to be sacrificed to expand choice

OPINION:

In a characteristically uninformed moment last month, the newly minted governor of Arizona, Katie Hobbs, took to Fox News to call for the reversal of the landmark universal school choice legislation created by her immediate predecessor, Doug Ducey. She presented the same worn-out, incorrect, unsupported arguments that those committed to funding the educational status quo have been making for decades on school choice: It will bankrupt the state and pull money out of the entire system.

If deciding to fund students instead of the intellectually desiccated and morally bankrupt state-run school systems would do those things, there would be two more reasons to support school choice. 

But the reality is that a strong state-run education system doesn’t need to be sacrificed to expand school choice.

The problem for Ms. Hobbs and others on the left across the country is that Republicans — and, more importantly, parents — seem to understand that the provision of choices in schools is not a zero-sum game.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made that very argument recently when he signed House Bill 1, which expands school choice options for all students in his state by eliminating financial eligibility restrictions and the current enrollment cap. At the bill signing, Mr. DeSantis was specifically asked about the concerns that school choice “zaps” money out of the state-run school system.

The governor made three points in response. First, just because Republicans are implementing school choice policies doesn’t necessarily mean that the money that now goes to public education will be reduced. Second, he noted that the majority of school choice selections in Florida actually occur within school districts. For instance, in Miami-Dade County, 70% of students attend a school other than the school for which they are zoned.

Third, his own history argues against such zero-sum concerns.

In tandem with his support of school choice, he has pushed to have more funding for state-run school districts, and the state is poised to give teachers the biggest pay increase ever. Florida now has its highest-ever spending per student, and Mr. DeSantis provided a historic total of $24.3 billion for K-12 public education last year, which raised teacher pay and improved school safety initiatives. He also allocated $800 million in last year’s budget to teacher pay raises, raising the teacher average base salary to $48,000 per year.

On balance, the data suggest that the policies he’s implemented appear to have strengthened education. Florida ranks first in the nation for education freedom, first in the nation for parental involvement in education, and first in fourth grade reading and math scores among large states.

The bottom line is that all of it — student choice, parental involvement, increased teacher pay and investment per student — appears to be directionally correct in Florida.

With respect to the nation, there can be no doubt that we are likely to spend much of the next decade fighting over the rights of parents to guide the education of their children. That is both welcome and long overdue; children belong to parents, not to the state, and certainly not to teachers unions.

As we wander into this struggle, it is important to remain focused on students rather than systems, especially systems that have failed. At the same time, for some parents, state-operated schools will be the best option. We need to be cognizant that everyone’s choices are liable to be different, much as the children on whose behalf such choices are made are different.