school vouchers

How much proof of its effectiveness does school choice need to show before it finally takes hold?

The traditional mindset of school voucher advocates and other education reformers is one of incrementalism. It is a philosophy that emphasizes tweaking a failing system by repairing its broken parts using a dose of competition provided by charter schools, vouchers, and other similar efforts. The idea is to work within the “box” of the traditional U.S. K–12 educational system, both public and private.

On Monday, June 29th the Colorado Supreme Court struck down the Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program as unconstitutional, preventing 500 students from having the chance to get out of failing and under-performing schools.

For the past several years, the policies that favor certain minority groups at the level of college admissions and public employment, commonly called affirmative action, have been on the back foot. Laws and constitutional amendments in various states, most notably in the liberal stronghold California in 1996, have restricted or banned outright the practice of discrimination on the basis of race, whether favoring the majority ethnic group or a minority. These movements ought to be welcomed by supporters of liberty. Our nation is founded on the principle of equality before the law. It seems inherently unjust to favor one group over another because of the color of their skin or ethnic history. It is doubly unjust that the organization engaging in such practices be the government to which we all pay taxes and from which we are meant to expect equal treatment and consideration.

Joseph Bast, President of the Heartland Institute and Dr. Herbert Walberg, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Heartland Institute discuss their book Education and Capitalism: How Overcoming Our…

Heartland‘s Joy Pullman speaks with Greg Forster,  Senior Fellow at the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. Opponents frequently claim that school choice does not benefit participants, it hurts public schools, costs…

Indiana Schools Superintendent Tony Bennett is likely to win re-election this fall. But as he campaigns these last few weeks, Bennett would be wise to preempt a coming erosion in…

The massive success of voucher program expansion by intrepid legislators this past year in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio has commentators in nearby states begging their own legislators to share the…

Heartland Institute President Joseph L. Bast was on “Wall Builders” with Rick Green Monday talking about the Taxpayers’ Savings Grants in Texas. As usual, Joe knocked it out of the…