This week is National School Choice Week. It is a time to bring awareness and advocate for more educational options to be available for children. Too often, we hear countless stories about public schools failing students and the decline of educational standards in the classroom. It is this type of news that makes a parent cringe at the fact that their child might not be receiving quality education. Parents should have the opportunity to decide the right learning environment for their child, and they have many options available to them.
However, school choice does have its critics, and it is those who want to place bureaucracy before the well being of the student. For example, the Virginia State Senate was considering a measure recently that would allow the State Board of Education to authorize more charter schools. When the measure came to a vote, the Senate Democrats all voted to strike down the measure.
Why? Could it be that allowing school choice would punish public schools that are failing? In the Virginia bill that was killed by the State Senate, there was only opposition from key organization: the Virginia School Boards Association. This association was against the bill, because they want to keep things under local control. If you want to keep education under local control, then you should punish the schools that are failing and hold educators responsible.
School choice gives students an opportunity to achieve a quality education and helps them not to fall through the cracks. We should all be in favor of helping children reach their fullest potential.