Poor Kids in Louisiana Getting Kicked in the Bayou

Louisiana’s new governor, Democrat John Bel Edwards, is trying to cut back on school choice.  Instead of low-income parents with children in schools rated C, D, or F getting a scholarship under the Louisiana Scholarship Program to send their children to private or parochial schools, Governor Edwards wants to cover only low-income children in D and F-rated schools.  Governor Edwards also wants to make it harder to start public charter schools.  (Not surprisingly, Governor Edwards got a lot of support from the teachers unions in last year’s election.)

School choice opponents cite a recent study that shows Louisiana voucher students did worse academically than those who remained in public schools.  In its editorial criticizing the proposed changes, The Wall Street Journal cites a different report that shows the opposite, which shows the problem with relying on these kinds of numbers to prove your point on school choice: you can always find some study that supports your view.

There is one number, however, that conclusively shows the value of school choice:  The number of parents who apply for these kinds of scholarships or who want to send their children to charter schools.  These results are absolutely clear.  Parents want a choice as to where they send their children to school.

Unlike the teachers unions and so-called education professionals, I think parents know what is best for their own children.  Parents may not know about children as a whole, but when it comes to their own children, they know more than anybody else in the world.  And it is that knowledge that enables parents to make the best choice of schools for their own children.