Education has been a part of the national debate for decades. Recently, however, education has become even more of a partisan issue. COVID-19 regulations shutting down schools or requiring young children to wear masks have stirred parent outrage at PTA meetings and school boards. The topic of Critical Race Theory (CRT) taught in schools brought voter turnout to elect Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. The Biden administration just proposed tying federal lunch money to accommodations for transgender students. And now, another tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas has turned the conversation to protecting our children.

In a time of such fraught debate over education and the best for our kids, school choice is more important than ever. In fact, new polls show that school choice has substantial bipartisan support. A poll commissioned by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools found that 83 percent of parents consider education to be a more important political issue for them than it has been in the past. The time is now for conservatives to understand how school choice brings benefits to both the public and private sectors.

1. What actually is school choice?

A common analogy advocates for school choice use is the grocery store example. Food is necessary for human survival, let alone flourishing – yet we don’t have publicly funded grocery stores. Congress hasn’t passed a law that tells Americans where and how to shop for groceries, and each household gets to decide what store best serves their needs for meals. Yet when it comes to education, millions of parents are told where and how to send their children to school. Quality or type of education is determined not by merit or need, but on districting.

School choice has long represented a wing of “big tent” conservatism based on free-market competition values. As one leftist outlet accused school choice advocates, “The private sector is eager to get their hands on a [multi-billion dollar education market].” To that, the conservative response is yes, and that’s a good thing: the private sector often spends dollars with more effectiveness and efficiency than government.

School choice allows parents to choose how their education dollars are spent regardless of where they live. It is premised on the idea that a “one size fits all” approach to education does not work; parents should have options for the schooling that best suits their child’s needs.

2. Does school choice “defund” public education?

No. The U.S. spends more money per student than any other nation in the world. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that funding per student in public schools increased by 3.7% from 2017 to 2019. The national average is around $12,000 per student. New York spent the most, at $23,091 per student in 2019. Compare this to the average cost of private school tuition for elementary education: just over $12,000 in 2022. We already spend a comparable amount of public education dollars that could go towards school vouchers for private schools.

Opponents of school choice predict a “mass exodus” of students from public schools, but this is unlikely. Take Arizona, for example. Last week, the state passed a bill to expand eligibility for its education savings account (or ESAs) to all K-12 students. The ESAs allow families to use funding to pay for their child’s private education, tutoring, textbooks, online courses, homeschool programs, et cetera. The funding is 90% of the per pupil spending of public school students. In Arizona, there are almost 1.2 million public school students but just 26,000 available seats in private schools.

The argument against school choice because there would be “an exodus” from the public schools is also flawed because even if there were such an exodus, it would admit to educational failure. Parents want to send their kids where they will receive the best education at the most affordable cost. If fair competition causes lack of demand for public schools, the system will be incentivized to improve itself or face detriment.

Several publicly-funded programs allow greater market competition than our current public school system. State colleges already receive funding thanks to Pell Grants, but students have more flexibility when it comes to choosing their higher education. The G.I. Bill works in a similar way: the serviceman decides where he wants to use his scholarship money. The armed forces doesn’t condition receipt of the funds on where he or she attends school.

 Conservatives are often accused of “hating public education” because of government spending, but similar programs still allow for greater choice. The conservative stance on education when it comes to school choice can promote equal opportunity (thought not equal outcome) while advocating a more responsible allocation of public funds.

3. Why is school choice so important?

A “one size fits all” approach to education doesn’t suit parental and student needs. There are innumerable learning styles and options, whether public, private, charter, virtual, hybrid, or home school. Some conservatives today argue that home schooling is always the best option, and that the movement should abandon school choice because the public school system continues to fail us regardless. Yet as Corey DeAngelis, national director of research at the American Federation for Children, says, “Homeschooling is an option, but many parents believe – rightly or wrongly – that they can’t do it.”  Private school isn’t always financially feasible either. Yet if parents are allowed to take advantage of school vouchers and tax dollars already paying for their child’s education elsewhere, quality of education would improve.

School choice is important because everyone should have access to a quality education regardless of financial status. Fair competition brings more opportunities. If families have more opportunities, a child who lives in a low-income area does not have to attend a poorly performing school. As one pro school choice platform, remaginEd, puts it, “What is most important about any private choice program is not the number of actual participants…the most important aspect of private choice programs is who can participate.”

As school choice continues to gain in popularity among both Republicans and Democrats, the Supreme Court just delivered another win for education. In Carson v. Makin, the Court ruled 6-3 that the state of Maine’s tuition assistance for private education which excluded religious or parochial schools was unconstitutional. The syllabus of the case notes:

“Maine has chosen to offer tuition assistance that parents may direct to the public or private schools of their choice. Maine’s administration of that benefit is subject to the free exercise principles governing any public benefit program—including the prohibition on denying the benefit based on a recipient’s religious exercise.”

Thus, state-funded education benefits cannot discriminate based on the free exercise of religion. The Court’s decision and recent bipartisan support for school choicd reaffirm equal opportunity here in the U.S. In the United States, all families should be eligible to use their tax dollars to fund a child’s education as they see fit.