By Kathryn Hickok
What if every child could attend the school where he or she would learn most successfully? Empowering parents to choose their children’s school is called educational—or school—choice. School choice allows parents to better meet their children’s specific educational needs and circumstances.
Nationwide polling shows strong majorities of voters support parents having “the right to use tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send their child to the public or private school which best serves their needs.” So far this year, Tennessee, Idaho, and Wyoming have joined 12 other states enacting universal or near-universal school choice laws for their students. According to the nonprofit organization EdChoice, approximately 40% of American children are now eligible to participate in a school choice program that includes private options. Millions more attend charter schools or benefit from other kinds of public school choice.
Children are unique, with different talents, interests, and learning styles. Schools that work well for some don’t always meet the needs of others. It’s time for Oregon to join the “school choice states,” so every child has the chance for an effective, motivating, and successful school experience.
Kathryn Hickok is Executive Vice President at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization, and Director of Cascade’s Children’s Scholarship Fund-Oregon program.
