If opponents of school choice can offer no proof to back their assertions, they deserve neither my steak nor anyone's confidence, leaving everyone to wonder: where's the beef?
The main two arguments used
by opponents of school choice programs are that (1) such programs enable parents to withdraw both their children and their children's education funding from public schools and that (2) this loss results in further financial strain and worse education in public schools.
Despite their sordid history, Blaine Amendments are today used not only by Washington to deny educational opportunities for children with special needs, but also by
opponents of school choice programs to deny parents the right to select the schools that are best for their kids.
However, these amendments, leftover relics of discrimination from more than 100 years ago when a surge of Catholic immigrants caused some to worry about their religious influence in what was then Protestant public schools, continue to be used by
opponents of school choice as whips against policymakers who have no interest in inviting litigation.
And
though opponents of school choice have a long list of complaints (some more valid than others), they are hardly powerless to address them, provided they recognize that working with (rather than against) the choice movement is in their enlightened self - interest.
Given this one - sided history, it's easy to understand
why opponents of school choice are eager to deny it purchase in Washington State and prevent the virtuous cycle from taking hold there.
Last week, several news outlets circulated a report by the U.S. Department of Education's research division that found negative results for students who participated in the District of Columbia's Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), the only private school choice program for low - income children in Washington, D.C. Predictably,
opponents of school choice descended on the report to tout it as evidence that school choice does not work.
If I was a
passionate opponent of school choice, I think I'd be ecstatic at the prospect of having Donald Trump's administration champion a big, visible, controversial school choice bill.
The political disadvantages of low - income parents also are exacerbated by the fact that the organizations most active in claiming to represent their interests typically are the
biggest opponents of school choice.
In other words, dropouts will not bolster the voucher group results — as
many opponents of school choice like to say they will — because the study does not leave out the negative academic outcomes of kids who drop out of the voucher program.
Despite this growing consensus,
opponents of school choice programs persist in their attempts to spread fear among parents and the general public by falsely accusing these programs of undermining local public schools and of further restricting educational access.
Contrary to arguments made
by opponents of school choice, a new study reaffirms that school choice saves taxpayer money for school districts and state budgets.
Yet in stark contrast to the Netherlands» approach to schooling and choice,
opponents of school choice in the U.S. frequently attempt to use Blaine amendments and other provisions to prevent the flow of public money to private schools, particularly religious schools.
She mentioned that Success has spent time defending itself from lawsuits sponsored by
opponents of school choice — 19 to be exact.
For years,
opponents of school choice had a corner on the litigation market.
JS: For the past thirty years, the phrase «vouchers drain money from public schools» has been repeated so often in the press and by
opponents of school choice that many people reflexively believe it.
Should the bill pass,
opponents of school choice will no doubt be waiting with knives sharpened and a battalion of attorneys.
Opponents of school choice are running out of excuses as evidence continues to roll in about the positive impact of charter schools...
Those opposing DeVos are not just Democrats and they are not
all opponents of school choice efforts.
In response, Dr. Casey Cobb of the National Education Policy Center in Colorado wrote a critique of the study, which has been touted by
opponents of school choice, like WEAC.
Unfortunately, students and their families were no match for misinformation campaign waged by
opponents of school choice and House leadership, which actively thwarted those bills.
To justify this ban on special education for children in religious schools, Washington relied on state constitutional Blaine Amendments — the same unfortunate relics of 19th - century anti-religious bigotry that
opponents of school choice programs rely on to thwart educational opportunity.
Sadly, in criticizing the study, Milwaukee Public Schools and state Rep. Sondy Pope (D - Cross Plains),
an opponent of school choice, mischaracterize the findings of the study, the meaning of inferred causality, and common understandings of «scientific progress.»
Some opponents of school choice believe that choice programs would allow parents to choose to segregate their children by race or income level.
As a large number of New Hampshire's nonpublic schools are religious,
opponents of school choice have challenged the program under, among other things, an 1877 amendment to the state constitution frequently referred to as a Blaine Amendment.
Opponents of school choice are once again seeking to restrict the ability of parents to select the best education for their child.