Fund Students, Not Systems
A recent bill proposed by North Dakota legislators has opened up an opportunity for a much-needed conversation regarding school choice. While House Bill 1532 is well-intentioned, it misses a big opportunity to provide education choice for all students, not just those who have access and have been accepted to a private school.
The school choice movement has exploded over the last few years and there has never been stronger public approval for the concept of funding students rather than continuing to fund a broken system. And yes, it is broken. A year before students are set to graduate, less than half of North Dakota 11th graders are proficient in English Language, and a whopping 67% of them are not proficient in math. The current system is failing to equip the majority of students in North Dakota. The good news is that we don’t have to keep doing things the way we always have. As we have seen in states like Arizona, Utah, and West Virginia, education reform that benefits all students is attainable. The bad news is there are those who hold a vested interest in maintaining the status quo even to the detriment of students and taxpayers. Some things to keep in mind:
Public funding for education comes from the pockets of taxpayers and is meant for educating students, not for propping up failing schools and propagating bloated education bureaucracies. Also, public dollars aren’t limited to public institutions. Pell Grants, Pre-K programs, food stamps, WIC, and Medicaid are just a few ways that allow citizens to use taxpayer dollars toward private and/or faith-based organizations.
Credible studies have shown that implementing universal school choice improves academic proficiency for both program participants and public school students while saving the state money. Teachers benefit, too. 5 studies have found that private and charter school competition leads to higher teacher salaries in public schools.
Private schools are arguably more accountable than public schools for the safety, academic progress, and overall happiness of students and teachers because if they underperform, they shut down. In contrast, funding for government schools continues to increase while academic proficiency, school safety, and the mental health of students decreases. Public education has no true accountability because it is a near-monopoly that has no incentive to improve.
Government schools are just as religious as private Christian schools. The secular progressivism in public schools actively promotes a specific worldview that is antithetical to other belief systems. While less than half of American students are proficient in math, science, and reading, schools are focusing on Social Emotional Learning programs that are thinly-veiled tools to politically and ideologically indoctrinate students. There is no such thing as a worldview-neutral education. Using taxpayer dollars exclusively for public education discriminates against citizens who reject the secularism in public school and instead want to instill the values ascribed by private schools or homeschool curricula.
North Dakota is full of wonderful educators and hard-working students. Unfortunately, most are stuck in an antiquated and one-size-fits-all system that no longer works. Continuing to throw money at the problem is clearly ineffective and, if we’re being honest, lazy. We can do better. While House Bill 1532 falls short, there’s no reason that we can’t eventually implement the exciting educational reforms happening in other states and empower all families regardless of income to choose the providers - whether that is public, private, or homeschool - that best meet their education needs.
Amber Vibeto, Executive Director
