Many rural Texans oppose school choice because they fear what might happen to their government schools in the future. A story from Marlin, Texas shows that they would be well advised to be concerned about the present. Marlin’s high school delayed its graduation ceremony because only five of the thirty-three seniors met the requirements to…
Writing for Reform Houston, Jef Rouner tries to use Florida as an example of what will happen in Texas if some form of school choice is implemented in the state. However, he learns the wrong lesson from Florida and implicitly admits that parents desire more control over their child’s education. He writes that, in Florida,…
In Texas, and across the nation, parents are objecting to the ideas that their children are being taught in government schools. This dissatisfaction is a significant reason why vouchers and education savings plans are growing in popularity. Such programs enable parents to more easily find schools that teach the ideas that they want their children…
Mention any problem with public education, and defenders of the government school system quickly sing the same chorus: we need more funding. In truth, the solution is not more funding. The solution is more freedom. If money is the solution for improving government schools, then Washington, D.C., should be near the top of performance assessments….
Moral premises underlie every public policy discussion. This is true of all sides of the debate. Unfortunately, in most instances those premises—particularly the more nefarious and irrational—are only implicitly expressed. One must look beyond the bromides and slogans to identify the fact that these premises call for us to sacrifice the best and brightest. An…
After watching two teammates hit back-to-back home runs multiple times, baseball great and amateur philosopher Yogi Berra once quipped, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” Some defenders of government schools are arguing that terms like “school choice” and “education freedom” harken back to the 1990s when a debate raged over legalizing charter schools. Former…
During many of his appearances to promote school choice, Gov. Greg Abbott has told parents that he wants to end indoctrination of “woke” agendas. Critics are quick to point out that most of Abbott’s appearances are religious schools. The governor, they claim, is a hypocrite because he is promoting a “new brand of indoctrination.” While…
Florida legislators are considering a bill that would prohibit government schools from providing education regarding sex and reproduction before the sixth grade. The noteworthy aspect of this story isn’t whether such topics should or shouldn’t ‘t be taught in schools. The important point is that politicians are involved in deciding school curriculum. The politicalization of…
When the United States House of Representatives debated the “Parents Bill of Rights Act,” Democrats made a series of strange claims. One of the more curious statements came from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), who declared that she values “freedom over fascism.” It has become fashionable among Leftists to call conservatives fascist. While this is often an…
Today, political debates are almost always dominated by a lack of conceptual clarity. Equivocation and “package dealing” are perhaps the most common forms. An example can be found in an article about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s push for a voucher program. The article quotes Abbott from an appearance he made at a Christian school. Abbott…
Last week, the United States House of Representatives passed the “Parents Bill of Rights Act.” When the bill was first introduced, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said, We want the parents to be empowered. And that’s what we’re doing today – that you have a say in your kids’ education, not government. If McCarthy and other…
A Georgia legislator has publicly stated what is often implied by those defending paternalistic government policies. The short version is that some people are too stupid to make decisions about their own lives. Government officials know what is best for you, and they will force you to act accordingly. During a hearing regarding a school…