Tar Heel State Lagging Behind
There are few educational options for North Carolina’s parents. Parents feel trapped in the current “one-size fits all” system of education when they want or need other choices. Instead, as we have reported previously, North Carolina may be in a “Race to the Bottom,” by making a show of innovation without actually expanding parental school choice.
While North Carolina lags behind, other states are taking the lead (and potentially gaining a competitive edge for federal funding) by proposing legislation to increase parental school choice options. Here are a few examples:
· California has passed legislation allowing students in a low-performing school to enroll in a public school anywhere in the state without regard to their parents’ place of residence.
· Florida’s Governor Crist announced education reforms that included re-implementing a private school voucher program.
· Nevada’s Governor Gibbons has introduced an education reform plan that would create a school voucher program for all parents and students to have school choice.
· Tennessee legislators are preparing to consider legislation that would create a pilot program for school vouchers that could be used in private schools for students in three low-performing schools in Memphis.
Admittedly, there are some quality traditional public schools in North Carolina; however, there are some quality public charter schools and private schools that are more than willing to share the workload for our state. It's time to separate the myths from the facts, and implement parental school choice in North Carolina.
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