Universal school choice has become the law of the land in Arkansas. Elected on a campaign platform that included serious reformation of the school system in Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee signed the LEARNS Act into law this week. The law gives Arkansas parents universal school choice.
In a major legislative victory for Arkansas’ new governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday signed the LEARNS Act into law, making the state the latest to adopt what she calls a system-changing universal school voucher program. Arkansas becomes the fifth state in the country to adopt some form of universal school choice.
The idea of school choice vouchers is that education funding follows the student. Parents become more powerful in such a system as they can now pick the school that they feel best fits the education needs of their children. Schools now must pay more attention to their students’ needs and less attention to the teachers’ unions.
There are critics. Some will fall back on the separation of church and state argument because funding will go to some schools that are sectarian in nature. Others may feel that this will decimate the public school system. Of course, by making such an admission, these critics are saying that the public schools suck in some areas of our country. And, of course, they do. When no children in a particular school can read at grade level, one has to ask why.
Recently, there has been a parade of stories about this issue across the country. Why would any parent choose such schools? They have already proved that they are just places to warehouse children for purposes of indoctrination. (And for collecting federal and state monies.)
This is a great example of federalism at work. Let competing ideas duke it out in the real world. Let people ‘vote with their feet.’ Let the good ideas flourish and the crap ideas get flushed.
There is absolutely no reason to tolerate top-down control from unelected bureaucrats in Washington, DC. It is time to clean house and get rid of the Department of Education. The Department of Education is an extravagance that we cannot afford if we want to make America great again.
Totally agree🕰