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Latest ViewPoints
Friedman Foundation: Only 12% of Idahoans Would Choose Regular Public School if Given a Choice
by Bryan Fisher/Gale Pooley, March 2008
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A Tale of Two Idaho School Districts
by John T. Wenders, July 2005
Boise spends 58% more than Meridian to produce a student that meets Expected Yearly Growth.
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What is School Choice?
School choice is a reform movement that is gaining ground in states across the nation, from voucher programs in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Florida to tax credits in Arizona, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, to charter schools in 39 states. Championed by such well-known figures as Nobel prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Former Secretary of Education William Bennett, and current Secretary of Education Rod Paige, school choice is an idea whose time has come.
The philosophy of school choice is that parents should have the right to choose how their children are educated. School choice means re-enthroning parents to their rightful role in charge of their children's education. School choice comes in many forms: vouchers, tuition tax credits, charter schools, magnet schools and homeschooling. When families choose where their children go to school, schools compete with each other, just as grocery stories do. Competition encourages everyone to improve. Knowing that parents have a choice, schools become more responsive to the needs of families, and the quality of the education increases.
Often, competition results in specialization in both public and private schools. Some schools may focus on languages, while others focus on math and science, or children with learning disabilities. In each case, the family, parents and children would decide which school would best meet their needs. When families have a choice, children receive the best possible education--and the best chance for the future.