The School Choice Debate at the 2020 RNC
By Yewon Lee
At the 2020 Republican National Convention, there were recurring references to the school choice policy. Almost every speaker on the first night mentioned school choice, and its references consistently continued through the rest of the convention, from Rebecca Friedrichs (public California school teacher) to Tera Myers (special needs advocate), so I thought this would be a good opportunity to explain and highlight some common arguments regarding school choice.
What is School Choice anyway?
While most traditional public school systems enroll students based on their geographical area of residence, school choice advocates argue that parents should have control over their school selection. There are several different types of school choice, most of which vary based on state and are descried below.
Charter Schools: Receive government funding similar to public schools, but are not required to follow many of the regulations put on complete public schools as they are considered ‘independently run’.
Magnet Schools: Publicly funded schools that have special courses or pathways not traditionally available at most public schools. They often attract gifted students, such as technology magnets or performing arts magnets.
Voucher program: Vouchers allow parents to choose a private school and redirect some of the public school education funds toward a student’s private school tuition.
Tax credit scholarships: Taxpayers can donate to certain non profits that contribute to scholarship organizations which provide scholarships to local students; in return, the taxpayers receive tax credits or tax breaks.
What’s the debate?
Proponents of school choice claim that students who live in areas without quality public schools need to have the ability to choose other options like charter schools that better fit their academic needs. This way, schools would have to compete in attracting students and those with better programs or specializations would thrive, and schools that cannot keep up would simply shut down. With this system, advocates argue it would help improve the overall American education system.
Critics, on the other hand, argue that school choice leads to public funds being diverted toward private schools, such as the voucher program, and that the system simply privatizes public education. Instead of putting in money toward newer programs, opponents of school choice urge improving public schools that already exist. Additionally, there is much debate on whether low-income students would even choose to attend better schools further away from their homes and if transportation would be feasible for the students.
2020 RNC
It was certainly interesting to see how the Republican National Convention this year had a clear emphasis on morals and portraying President Donald Trump as a caring, empathetic leader through mentioning education and its connections to African American communities or students with disabilities. Starting with Rebecca Friedrichs, a CA public school teacher who discussed “low-income students in dangerous, corrupt, and low-performing schools” and how school choice would help reverse that. Other speakers like congressional candidate Kim Klacik claimed President Trump’s support for school choice policies would help students of color obtain more opportunities besides their inner-city schools, specifically targeted toward African American students. The same sentiment continued throughout the RNC, including Vernon Jones and Tim Scott, both African American congressmen, and Tera Myers who describes her son Samuel with Down syndrome and their path to finding a specialized educational program.
During this coronavirus pandemic, consistent reference and idea of educational reform described to open a multitude of academic options appeals to parents around the U.S. Currently, with so many families having to change educational plans to online homeschooling or choosing between safety and education, school choice sounds like the most optimal policy, right? While that certainly may be the case, as always, I encourage all readers to consider both sides of the issue and ask the difficult questions—To what extent should school choice be implemented? How will public school attending students without the advantage of long distance transportation be affected? Is it right to spend public tax dollars on private schools, even religious private schools?— to make a well-informed decision.
Learn More
See educational choice policies in your community.
What the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has to say about School Choice
Tera & Samuel Myers and their journey to finding an individualized education plan