Unintended Consequences of True School Choice
Written by funker on July 12, 2010 – 3:18 pmI always try to make it a point to see both sides of an education issue, and as Project Runway host Tim Gunn always tells his fashion designer cast, try to make it work.
The concept of true school choice fits that challenge.
The thought behind true school choice is that “dollars follow the child.” Parents receive a government-estimated amount of money which represents the cost of educating each of their children, with adjustments for special needs such as special education, English language skills and physical disabilities. Parents may apply those monies it towards any school they choose: public, private, parochial or even home schooling. The state takes charge of informing parents of their options; public school superintendents and local school boards would have little incentive to do it.
True-choice advocates say this puts the decisions on quality schools in the hands of the parents, in effect creating a marketplace for education. It also, in theory, would provide “seed capital” for parents who could home-school their children or join with other parents to form a school of their own. It could also help parents create a more personalized educational experience for their child; for instance, they could elect to send him or her to college a year early. True choice assumes all parents also have equal access to perfect information to make an informed decision.
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