Earlier this year the legislature passed the CHOOSE Act, offering parents a choice in how their children are educated.
While the CHOOSE Act is good, I still have reservations about it, specifically the part that requires participating schools to “agree to comply with all applicable health and safety laws or codes.” Remembering the days of Covid and forced masking makes this line an immediate red flag for me. And now that our State Health Officer Scott Harris is apparently tied to a far-left, George Soros group, this is even more concerning.
Regardless, the CHOOSE ACT is a start in the right direction, putting parents back in the driver’s seat when it comes to their children’s education. So when an article was published last week about the Alabama Education Association’s (AEA) efforts to thwart the CHOOSE Act, I laughed at the absurd claims. Parents are solely responsible for making decisions about their children, but of course, the teachers’ unions are against any effort that allows parental control or insight into our government schools.
So here’s the attempt of a fulltime, working, single mom, who devotes every second possible to raising her son, to offer a counter view to AEA Executive Director Amy Marlowe’s objections to the CHOOSE Act.
First, Marlowe claims that universal school choice is designed to help wealthy families continue to access exclusionary private schools. While there may be some of these families out there, not a single person I’ve talked with about the CHOOSE Act fits that mold. On the contrary, every single person that my organization, Moms for Liberty, has spoken with about utilizing this option is a typical middle-class family struggling to make it through the current economic crunch. The CHOOSE Act will allow parents like me to access my tax dollars to better educate my child, meaning middle-class families can finally get their kids away from government school indoctrination and groupthink.
Next Marlowe offers all the propagandist statements about how the CHOOSE ACT will affect government schools. At the top of the list of concerns is proximity to non-government schools. But this is a simple supply and demand situation. Private schools are currently harder to find. They are either full or too far away for parents to access. But as demand increases with school choice, so will supply, and one of the greatest blessings of the CHOOSE Act is the opportunity for churches to begin offering educational options to their communities. With parents able to now re-direct their tax dollars to cover educational costs, communities can access funding to support homeschool networks or church-based schools.
Then Marlowe tries the age-old adage of “we have always had school choice.” Yes, parents have had the ability to send their children to non-government schools, but they were still forced to continue paying taxes to the local government school, essentially paying twice for education – one that aligned with their values and one that didn’t meet their educational needs. The CHOOSE Act now allows parents to re-direct their tax dollars to only one school that they choose to support. This is true educational choice!
Another concern of Marlowe’s is the “rampant fraud” that goes along with school choice. For anyone to suggest that parents accessing their tax dollars results in more fraud than when the government controls the purse strings is absolutely ridiculous. As an example, let’s review how the government handled Ukraine – millions of “lost” tax dollars, a completely non-auditable Department of Defense, and noticeable fraud, waste and abuse in every government office that citizens visit. I trust parents more than I’ll ever trust the government with my money, and I think most Alabamians agree.
The AEA wants to claim that school choice is redirecting public resources. Let’s just remember that the government has nothing without taking it from “We The People” first.
Make no mistake, every single complaint the AEA has against school choice is because it’s taking power away from them and putting it in the rightful hands of parents.
School choice brings capitalism to the school market. It means parents can decide where and how their children are educated. If schools aren’t meeting the expectations of the parent, then the parent can move their children to a different school, meaning government schools now have to compete to achieve the standards of everyone else in the market – and government school standards will rise because it’s the only way government schools will survive.
Bringing free market principles to the educational arena is what parents and children deserve. And if the AEA doesn’t like it, well then, bless their heart.
As for me and my house, we’ll be taking my tax dollars out of government school as soon as we’re eligible. I encourage parents across the state to do the same. And until then, pick up the phone, call your legislators, and remind them how important the CHOOSE Act is for your family.
Emily Jones is a native of North Alabama who now resides in Madison County. She started the first Moms for Liberty chapter in the state, seeking to fight for the preservation of parental rights and the protection of our children, including her own son, a student in the Madison City School District.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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