Should Parents Have Choice for Schools for Children?

Americans are divided on numerous concepts and practices with one of them being school choice. Republicans generally favor giving to parents the right to choose the schools that their children attend, and Democrats generally oppose school choice.

Red states generally have school choice, and blue states do not. States handle school choice in the way that they think is best, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott has his own way of dealing with the issue. Tony Kinnett wrote about Abbott’s action in The Daily Signal and reported that Abbott “called for parents to contact their state representatives and encourage them to get school choice ‘across the finish line.’”

The Republican governor posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Texas has an obligation to deliver the best possible education for each child. School choice will help achieve that.”

He then asked that parents visit TXParentsMatter.com as a means of contacting lawmakers. Abbott called for special session on Oct. 5 to provide education savings accounts, or ESAs, for “all Texas schoolchildren.”

“Now is the time to expand ESAs to every child in the state. That will give all parents the ability to choose the best education option for their child,” he said.

Kinnett stated that Abbott is not the first governor “to call for a major overhaul to the state’s school choice legislation. The Heritage Foundation released a report in September that “identified Texas as ranking No. 35 among the states for school choice, trailing behind more liberal states like California, Illinois, and Vermont.” The report noted the following:

“Texas could improve its ranking by establishing K-12 education savings accounts, making it easier for more charter schools to open and operate, and giving families more choices among traditional public schools.

Whether you are Republican, Democrat, or Independent or whether you live in red or blue state, you should be concerned about the schooling of children in your state, particularly if you are a parent of minor children.

According to Kinnett, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) considers school choice to be “the civil rights issue of the 21^st century.” The senator recognized the disparity of opportunity between students across the nation. The disparity is mainly between students whose parents “are able to afford more expensive and academically rigorous private options and students who come from lower-income homes.

The disparity often comes because parents in lower-income families do not have enough time or energy to help children with homework and projects after working two jobs or being on the job all day. It also comes because higher-income homes almost always have computers and other educational helps for children, while lower-income homes do not.

Whatever the situation in the home, all parents deserve to be – and should be – involved in the education of their children. When parents are involved, children usually do better in school. Numerous famous people come from lower-income homes – Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Ben Carson are two examples. When children know that education is important to their parents, most of them do better in school. America needs well-educated citizens, and educated citizens create stronger families, communities, and nations.