by Sue Legg

This article by League member Sally Butzin appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat. For years, Sally and I have joked about the many choices of Cheerios. There are too many choices! The Florida Voucher System now takes about $3.9 billion from the public schools. We are asking our public schools to do more with less support. There may also be too many choices some of which may not be good ones. The average parent has no way to know because the rules differ for each choice.

School choice sounds like a great idea. Everyone loves choices. At my neighborhood Publix there is a whole aisle with hundreds of cereal choices. Whatever you prefer, there is a choice that satisfies your tastes.

Shouldn’t the same hold for choosing your child’s education? Florida now offers a wide range of choices, from neighborhood public schools, charter schools, private schools (religious and secular), to homeschooling.

However, there is a big difference between choosing a cereal and choosing a child’s education. For one thing, the government is not paying for your cereal choice. For another, you can be assured that whatever cereal you choose has been manufactured under strict safety guidelines and labeled with ingredients and nutritional information.

Not so with school choice. Not all education choices undergo the same research-based standards and accountability as required for district-run public schools. Parent-driven school choice does not provide the same information as a cereal box.

Private schools and homeschools have their own standards, or lack thereof. Parent choice also belies the notion that public schools are a public good for all children, especially those who may not have parents with the knowledge or interest in investigating an array of choices.

Now that Florida has introduced universal vouchers, more parents are taking advantage of receiving government funds of approximately $8,000 per child to choose a private option. A majority receiving government vouchers are using them to subsidize tuition they were already paying for their child’s private education.

We can only hope that parents are choosing wisely and digging deeper into their private options to assure that the curriculum is standards-based, that the teachers are certified with subject matter expertise, that the building and grounds meet safety standards, that services are provided for children with special needs, that the school is financially sound and not in danger of closing precipitously, and that all children are welcome no matter their race or ethnicity.

For years our public taxes have funded public schools where parents’ questions are answered because the district-run schools must meet all those requirements. However, despite meeting the requirements, public schools still differ in outcomes based upon factors outside the school’s control such as poverty and parent involvement.

Rather than adequately funding and supporting public schools to improve student outcomes, parent choice has become the escape mode. Essentially our government has abandoned its constitutional duty to provide a high quality free public education system, leaving it up to parents to figure it out. All the while the profiteers are waiting in the wings to make a buck off our children.

Article IX of the Florida Constitution states that “the education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida.” I agree with former Gov. Jeb Bush who recently released a statement lamenting the poor showing of America’s students on the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) test. Gov. Bush stated, “The results released today underscore the urgent need to remain strong on high standards, effective accountability systems and date-driven policies that put students first”.

Indeed. The government needs to require that all public funds going to private education must put students first as Governor Bush has stated. School choice should require the same regulations and information as a cereal box.

Sally Butzin is a retired educator and child advocate. She was founder and executive director of the Institute for School Innovation and past president of the International Alliance for Invitational Education (invitationaleducation.org).

The original Tallahassee Democrat article is available here.