Parental Choice in Education Overdue

By Susan Morris

Over the past two decades, I’ve educated my own children through home, private, charter and public schools, besides serving for seven years as a private-school director. Here are the most compelling reasons why I support the Parent Choice in Education Act (HB184):

1. It’s the right thing to do, on principle. And the principle is succinctly stated in the bill itself: “Parents are presumed best informed to make decisions for their children, including the educational setting that will best serve their children’s interests and educational needs.” Affirmation of this principle is also echoed in the LDS Church’s position that “the manner of education of children is considered to be the parents’ decision” (LDS Church Education System Policy Statement, Nov. 16, 2000).

2. Closely related to No. 1, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld, as unalienable, the right of parental control over education since Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 1925: “The fundamental . . . liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children. . . . The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”

Now I know that some well-meaning people honestly believe that because certain parents might make poor choices about their children’s education, we should deny most parents the right to make the choice. Thomas Jefferson answered thus: “It is better to tolerate the rare instance of a parent refusing to let his child be educated than to shock the common feelings by forcible . . . education of the infant against the will of the father.” True freedom does include the risk of failure, but as falling test scores and academic performance show us, public schools cannot guarantee success, either.

3. Meanwhile, the most vulnerable children in society benefit the most from school choice. In the past five years, Children First Utah, an independent scholarship fund, has poured more than $1.3 million into private schools to help educate Utah’s low-income children — those who tend to perform poorly in public schools. The Parent Choice in Education Act expands scholarship help to all Utah families on a sliding scale, based on income relative to family size.

4. Because most families receiving state scholarships must pay a portion of private school tuition, much needed additional funds flow to education, but without increased taxes! This benefits Utah in general, while also moving families toward another correct principle — that we should pay for what we receive.

5. Personal financial investment in their children’s schooling naturally encourages parents to participate more fully in the entire educational process (i.e., homework, voluntarism, parent organizations, etc.).

6. Furthermore, it has become the will of the people to promote for all children through legislation what the courts have long protected as a right for families who could afford it. The annual Brigham Young University Utah Voter Poll released this month indicates that 56 percent of registered voters at least “somewhat favor a voucher system.”

7. Finally, even students who remain in public schools benefit from the legislation. The bill is financed through the state’s general fund rather than the education fund, and it guarantees that school districts’ fixed costs will be covered. Even better, when a student leaves the public system, about $1,600 remains behind him. So public schools get the increased per-pupil expenditure they’ve been wanting all along.

Public policy based on correct principles benefits everyone. Parental Choice in Education is truly a rising tide that lifts all boats. And it’s not new; it’s just overdue.

Susan Morris is the director of the American Heritage School of Spanish Fork.