Public education is a fundamental and vital substructure of American society. It has often been the staging area for equality and civil rights. The attempts to bring a more egalitarian model for public education have been valiantly implemented since Brown vs. Board of Education. Despite these great efforts public education in America continues to receive a failing grade.

We must work to see that the federal and state funds for education from taxpayers are producing greater results for parents and students. Educational equality will only be realized when families of all income brackets have the freedom to choose from a diverse selection of educational programs that best suits the needs of their children.

Public schools are suffering from poor test scores, high drop-out rates, violence, and a plethora of social ills. Our government has attempted reforms and greater funding all of which have not produced the desired results.

It is time to break up the government monopoly on education and implement universal school vouchers. Universal school vouchers would finally bring about equitable educational opportunities for Americans regardless of family income.

Studies show that private schools produce greater student outcomes than do government ran public schools. Parents and students in private school settings show the greatest margin of satisfaction in teacher performance, school safety, academic standards, school discipline, parental involvement and administration. Public school students and their parents tend to be less satisfied on these same issues.

Parents in public schools are reported as desiring smaller class sizes, improved safety, better curriculum and higher academic standards. Despite, increases in federal funding, surpassing most private school per student costs, government schools are still unable to deliver consumer satisfaction.

In 1989, 530 random public school families and 250 random private school families from Dayton, Ohio and Washington D. C. received scholarships from the Parents Advancing Choice in Education program (PACE). The students and parents were polled about their educational satisfaction.

The Student Poll:

The Parent Poll:

(Read more after  the leap)

To best serve the interest of the taxpayers and American families we must seek out the most optimal education model. Why are private schools more successful in producing a higher quality of education and satisfaction for their students and parents over public schools? How can public schools reform to emulate and produce the successes of private education? Is the government a good steward of tax dollars earmarked for education?

Private schools are forced to compete in the free market. Their success fully depends on parental satisfaction. On the other hand, when a public school fails the government attempts to fix it by giving them more tax dollars.

Private schools are free to develop through innovation and meet the individual needs of their school population without the bonds of federal and state regulations. Their boards and supervisors have little regulatory powers. Public schools are restricted by teachers unions, regulations, bureaucracy, and micro-managing school boards.

Private schools enjoy the freedom to set their own policies for personnel expectations. It is much easier for them to terminate weak, under-performing teachers. Public schools must suffer incompetent teachers who are protected by the NEA. The process to fire a public school teacher is long, and complex.

Private school teachers make less money, but, have greater job satisfaction. It is a trade off for superior working conditions and the freedom to educate. Regulations and restraints are a choke-hold on public school innovation and the morale of teachers and students. The more money we pour into the public school system the less we get back on our investment.

Suppliers (school systems) will organize to produce a more superior product, when their consumers (students and parents) are free to pick the best from a diverse selection of choices.

The Bush Administration put into place the “No Child Left Behind” act (NCLB). This is a standards-based education reform. Schools must meet standards set by the states in order to continue to receive federal funding. NCLB has been credited with an increase in standardized test scores. Critics counter that NCLB is structured to facilitate “teaching to the test”, inhibiting true learning. NCLB succeeded in raising scores of special needs students. Standardized tests for all other students, nationally, in both reading and math have continued to decline. NCLB sets goals at the minimum and neglects the needs of higher performing students. States and schools are then motivated to set the standards bar lower than higher to meet federal funding regulations.

President Obama has enacted the “Race to the Top” education initiative. States are competing for federal funds through innovation efforts.

This new initiative of the Obama administration is a federal nose under the camels tent toward nationalized curriculum standards.

The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. And it is the greatest opponent of school choice, vouchers or a universal free-market education system. Despite the enormous amount of international studies with evidentiary data that overwhelmingly supports the superiority of free-market education over government schools; the NEA wields its massive political clout to impede educational progress in the US. They are concerned about job security for teachers. They, also, argue that education vouchers would diminish educational standards and the use of public funds for religious school education is unconstitutional.

As an Illinois Senator, Barack Obama, stated that he would keep an “open mind” to school vouchers for education. However, as president, he put an end to the highly successful school voucher program for the disadvantaged students of Washington D. C.

Partisan support for school choice remains varied across the political spectrum. Those opposed to school vouchers argue that the public schools would be weakened. Those in support of free-market education, school choice or vouchers include conservative think tanks such as The Cato Institute, The Heritage Foundation and many advocacy groups such as the National Association of Independent Schools and Citizens for Educational Freedom.

An op-ed in the USA Today criticizes the Obama administration and Democrats for exercising school choice while denying the same to the disadvantaged students of Washington D. C. The article places most of the blame on the NEA and its campaigns to squash advances for charter schools and vouchers. It concludes with the affirmation of this post’s position that school choice is the best way to achieve true educational success and equality for all of America’s students.

Sociologists, statisticians, researchers, educators, politicians, pundits may all argue for or against school choice; the most significant and qualified voices are parents. Parents know what is best for their children and their educational needs.

Andrew J. Coulson, Director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom cites that the D. C. schools out spend the private sector schools by $10,000 per student. Yet, the school system is rife with violence, dilapidated school buildings and dismal test scores. Figures from the U.S. Census bureau reveal that the national average to educate a student in the public school system is $6000.00 more than an average private school. Taxpayers and their children deserve more for their money. Can we afford to continue throwing money at programs with declining outcomes? For the 2008 SATs, public school seniors were as a matter of course outscored by their privately schooled peers.

It is time to take a stand for educational equality for all of America’s students and families. School vouchers will save taxpayers money; bring healthy competition to the school systems, better teachers, higher test scores and satisfied parents. The government and the NEA cannot be allowed to monopolize the education market with a one size fits all and sacrifice the future of our children.