Education...a Deciding Factor in Elections.

Opinion Piece by Clint Bolick

Many people have favorable views of school choice, although they may not publicly voice it. Clint Bolick, a director of the Goldwater Institute Center for Constitutional Litigation and a research fellow with Stanford University's Hoover Institution, writes an opinion piece on certain groups and their thoughts on educational choices. His basis...a survey with surprising results.

McCain's School Choice Opportunity

By CLINT BOLICK
July 15, 2008; Page A17

Education is slipping in priority among many voters but not among Hispanics, many of whom see school choice as a deciding factor in whom to vote for this fall. This has implications for the presidential election.

A new poll shows that 82% of Hispanics consider education as one of three most important issues facing this country. The survey also shows that, even while Hispanics trust Democrats over Republicans on education by more than a two-to-one margin, that ratio could change if Republicans heavily promote school choice while Democrats oppose it.

The poll was conducted last year among more than 800 registered Hispanic voters for the Alliance for School Choice and the Hispanic Coalition for Reform and Educational Options, but never publicly released. It was conducted by two polling firms, The Polling Company (which works primarily for Republicans) and the Ampersand Agency, (which polls mostly for Democrats).

This survey found that although Hispanic voters generally consider public schools to be effective, they also favor, by a wide margin, school choice (defined as allowing parents a choice in whether to spend their children's education dollars in public or private schools).

Fifty-two percent of Hispanic voters have a favorable view of school choice, according to the poll, while only 7% had an unfavorable view. When asked about vouchers specifically, 32% expressed a favorable opinion compared to 13% unfavorable.

But where the poll really gets interesting is on school choice as an electoral issue: 65% of those surveyed reported that they would be more likely to support a candidate for office who supports school choice, including 35% who said they would be "much more likely." Only 19% said they would be less likely to vote for a pro-school choice candidate.

...Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly young and have exhibited a propensity toward political independence -- and no issue is more tangible for them than educational opportunity. If Hispanics align their voting with the educational interests of their children, it could alter the electoral landscape -- not merely for this election, but permanently.

To read the rest of the piece, click here.

Survey indicates parents want school choice

Posted: June 25, 2008 04:47 PM CDT
Updated: June 25, 2008 05:37 PM CDT
A survey of Oklahomans suggests there's a significant disconnect between where our kids go to school and where parents would like them to go.
A survey found that 92% of Oklahoma students attend regular public schools. But, if parents had the choice, only 17% would choose to send their kids to public schools.
Some lawmakers are pushing to give parents more choice. The move is getting support from both sides of the aisle.

"In this state, there's a lot of potential for the school choice issue to be a bridge builder for policy-makers. There are no partisan lines drawn among likely voters, and many different demographics show high levels of support for school choice," said Paul DiPerna with the Friedman Foundation.
A bill that would have created a privately supported scholarship fund for students from lower income families passed the Oklahoma Senate last session, but was defeated in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Missouri has faced similar challenges...have have had bills going through the legislature many times...only to be defeated. Of course, the teacher unions have always stepped in...their lobbying powers are extreme. Teachers are great, but the unions seem to suck the goodness out and replace it with something that only serves to further hurt the children and their education.
I will hold onto the fact I know the movement will grow stronger day by day, and we may finally have a school system that I can say I am proud of.

Power vs. Parental Choices

Parents need to make the choices for their children...or at least have the option to do so. I have a child who is my entire life. Not making the decisions for him would not work for me and I could not imagine other parents wanting decisions made for their child either. Arizona is struggling to keep parents in control of their child's future, with some strong opponents. As this commentary mentions, there always seems to be a power struggle...to keep the power with the school monopoly. Funny how monopolies on other areas are illegal, yet in our most important tool in life, they seem to be the norm.

A commentary from Phoenix's East Valley Tribune:

Vouchers benefit families, not schools
Karla Dial, Commentary

When an Arizona appellate court scrapped the state’s school-voucher programs for disabled and foster children, it pulled Arizona from a path of settled case law, threatening both groups’ educational prospects.
In scrapping the voucher programs May 15, the court cited one of the Arizona constitution’s two Blaine Amendments — 19th Century laws which prohibit “appropriation of public money made in aid of any church, or private or sectarian school.” Though 37 states have Blaine Amendments prohibiting state funds from being used to “support” private schools, Arizona is one of only four with a second amendment prohibiting state “aid” to them.
The Arizona Supreme Court, where the voucher case is now headed, has clearly stated school choice programs such as the two in question do not “aid” private schools. They aid parents and children by enabling them to purchase an education.
The court has held that in deciding Blaine issues, judges must determine who the “true beneficiary” of a state program is, and in the case of school choice, the court said, the beneficiaries are families, not private schools.
The groups who sued to halt the voucher programs — the ACLU Foundation of Arizona, People for the American Way, and the Arizona Education Association — don’t want the public to know who the true beneficiaries are.
What these opponents have accomplished is to rob a small number of disabled students (117 were enrolled this year) and foster children (140 students) and their parents of their civil rights in order to make a political point, and push a false interpretation of the state’s constitution.
Nor have they been intellectually honest enough to acknowledge that the state of Arizona has for years run a school choice program for disabled children very much like the voucher program in question, under the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. The only difference is that the state assigns special-needs children to the IDEA programs that bureaucrats feel will best serve them. Under the voucher program, parents choose.
That suggests what lies at the heart of this issue: a struggle for power and control. Those who run the government school monopoly want to keep their power instead of sharing it with taxpayers and parents who might not choose their services. The idea of competition can be a scary thing, especially for groups that already enjoy captive audiences. Arizona, which operates four distinct school choice programs, has shown choice really works — and that’s why these groups are targeting it.
The decision is headed to the Arizona Supreme Court on appeal. Since the lower court contradicted itself regarding the state constitution’s Blaine Amendments — saying the programs “aid” religious schools but do not “support” them — it’s reasonable to expect the high court to abide by its own precedents and recognize this case for what it is: a grab for additional power by a fat and callous educational establishment.
Karla Dial (dial@heartland.org) is managing editor of School Reform News.