The Fallacy of School Choice

Education Policy Brief #197 | By: Evan Wechman | December 11, 2024

Photo by Jan van der Wolf

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Policy Summary:

President-elect Donald Trump should be content he will take office along with a GOP-controlled House and Senate.  If he has his way, the Republicans will have the momentum to make sweeping educational changes.

Whether the entire Department of Education is eliminated or radically transformed, Trump and his allies hope to change the public education system forever.  The primary way they intend to do this is through school choice.

Trump has campaigned on providing families more control over how their children are educated. He would offer them school choices in the way of vouchers, tax benefits, and other methods of diverting capital away from the public school system. He has been a tireless critic of the public school system,  which he has lambasted for being “woke,” and too liberal.

However, it would serve the President-elect to tread carefully.  Though he won the election, the public is not necessarily on his side. This is true even in red states.

For instance, on election night measures to support pro-choice were defeated in Republican states.  Both voters in Kentucky and Nebraska voted against providing public money to subsidize private education. Also, a constitutional amendment to establish school choice was defeated in Colorado.

Despite such setbacks, Trump seems likely to push for school choice measures, especially with allies like House Speaker Mike Johnson promising to get it done in the House. 

Acclaimed economist Milton Friedman first brought school choice to the public’s attention in the 1950s. It was initially a direct response to school desegregation after the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case.

The idea is to allow families to send their children to private schools that align more closely with their beliefs with public money.

 

Policy Analysis:

During the post-1954 Brown vs. Board of Education era, many parents chose to send their children to segregated white private schools in southern states by utilizing vouchers.

 Similarly, many people throughout the country are dissatisfied with the current state of the public education system. Many on the right blame the schools for the “woke” movement, liberal indoctrination, and everything that went wrong during the pandemic.

However, this mindset on the right is not seeing the whole picture.  Though many think they would improve their children’s education by selecting a school on their side of the culture war, this isn’t accurate. 

 In fact, many private schools have strict admission guidelines.  The result is that only wealthy and well-educated families can take advantage of these opportunities.  The poorer, less advantaged families have a tougher time gaining entry to these schools, which is directly opposite from what the GOP is promising.

Similarly, school choice would also damage public schools. This is because the dollars diverted from public schools due to the drop in enrollment results in a significant decrease in teachers, books, art supplies, and even sports teams. The schools still must pay for fixed expenses such as building maintenance and utilities, but because fewer dollars are coming in, the education of the students suffers.

The school choice paradise promised by the right doesn’t happen. Instead, both public and private schools suffer.

However, a middle ground can still be reached. Proponents of public schools acknowledge that no one educational model fits all students. That is the reason behind the expansion of many different programs within the public school system such as magnet schools.  Such schools can focus on certain disciplines like the arts or science, giving students choices within the public system without decreasing funding. 

In such situations, we are not throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

 

Engagement Resources

 

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