Can parents pull off a four-peat in school choice?
Originally printed in the Washington Daily Times
Some readers will remember the early ’90s Gatorade commercial where we were encouraged to “Be Like Mike.”
But Mike and the Chicago Bulls couldn’t do it. Neither could the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Yankees dynasty at the turn of the 21st century, let alone Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide or Bill Belichick’s Patriots. The thing none of these sports teams could pull off is the “four-peat.” Since World War II, only five teams have claimed the top spot four years in a row.
It could happen in 2024 — at least for parents across the country hoping for the fourth “year of school choice” in a row.
Every year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have had increasing success challenging the educational status quo by demanding a greater number of schooling options for their children. 2021 saw 18 new laws pass at the state level that gave parents greater control of their children’s educational destiny.
In what came as a surprise to many, 2022 saw the passage of the largest education savings account program in the nation. Arizona’s ESA program makes every child in the state (that’s more than 1.1 million) eligible for an ESA that can be used to fund things like tuition, instructional materials and even college coursework. This school year, at least 72,000 students have availed themselves of the program.
Following Arizona’s program, many onlookers doubted whether 2023 could match the previous two years, but parents’ progress would not be slowed. Last year saw 20 states pass or expand public or private choice, including seven that expanded private choice to all families and one to nearly all. Like 2022 and 2021, 2023 was once again dubbed the “year of school choice.”
So, is this year the one when activity finally slows down? Don’t count on it. Recent polling shows that a significant majority of voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports school choice than one who opposes options. Support exists among both Republicans (86%) and Democrats (77%). If you think those polling numbers have an effect in an election year, you’re right. Expect to see lawmakers respond once again to parents’ demand for options that best meet the needs of their children.
But these laws aren’t passing merely as a cynical, political reaction.
. . . Such options are already being pursued in several states, and it’s only the third week of January. In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee has proposed education freedom scholarship accounts that would initially provide expanded options for 20,000 students. In his State of the State address, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the time has come to take an “all-of-the-above approach to education, whether it’s public, private, home schooling, charter or otherwise.”
Likewise, proposals to expand parental choice have been introduced in Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri and elsewhere. Instead of being an exception, it seems that 2021 signaled the start of a new rule in politics under which parents are a force to be reckoned with. On this front, parents can show up even in some of recent history’s most elite franchises.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed. But when it comes to pursuing a brighter future for children, don’t bet against their parents. Let’s root for the four-peat, that activism around the country would result in 2024 being known as the latest “year of school choice.”