In a single kind or one other, the college selection motion has been round a very long time. But it surely has by no means acquired a shot within the arm just like the one it obtained with the federal scholarship tax credit score provision within the One Huge Lovely Invoice Act, which grew to become legislation final July. That provision contains probably the most formidable selection initiative thus far: a credit score of as much as $1,700 for particular person taxpayers who contribute to scholarship-granting organizations for private-school tuition.
Not surprisingly, some public faculty advocates reacted with despair on social media:
“Faculty selection is a tactic conservatives use to defund public training and create boundaries for upward mobility.”
“Faculty selection is a technique to destroy public training and ultimately push public tax {dollars} to personal faculties that are used to segregate college students.”
“Vouchers are a tax break for the rich.”
“Giving cash to [private] faculties is stealing from public training, and I don’t desire a dime of my cash going in the direction of it.”
Nor have been policymakers immune, as reported in Okay–12 Dive:
[S]chool vouchers “sweep apart civil rights protections, help segregation, decimate public faculty budgets, and don’t enhance scholar outcomes.”
[T]he faculty selection program “will divert billions of taxpayer {dollars} to personal spiritual faculties that indoctrinate and may discriminate in opposition to college students and their households based mostly on the colleges’ beliefs.”
Amidst all of the detrimental rhetoric, this insightful remark stood out:
“If we’re going to hold public faculties, faculty directors want to determine a brand new supply mannequin. All-in-one faculties are more and more not what folks need. If districts don’t adapt, personal faculties will proceed to achieve reputation, no matter how good or dangerous they’re.”
I couldn’t agree extra.
I’ve spent over 50 years as a public faculty educator. I do know now could be the time for public faculty leaders to embrace and study from competitors, not concern it.
