A few weeks ago, I walked into Tennessee’s Legislative Plaza to attend a few legislative committee meetings. The hallway was lined with various tables sponsored by interest groups advocating a specific stance.
Several young men wearing large lapel stickers with the familiar “No” circle with the red slash crossing over the word “Vouchers” proclaimed their opposition to school choice.
I stopped and listened as I struggled with an iPad and files while removing my overcoat. I was presented with a complete list of items that criticized parental school choice. Their false claims included statements that school choice harmed public schools; that the practice of parental school choice was unfair; and that school choice had failed where tried.
Robin SmithI asked what group they represented and was surprised that one group was declaring its reclaiming of education in Tennessee. A second group was the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and a third man identified himself as an atheist with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
I smiled, took their literature and walked on.
The topic of parental school choice lingered from that moment and continues as our state appears to be approaching passage of legislation that’s targeted for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and attend a school that falls into the bottom 5 percent of all schools in performance.
Three years ago, Gov. Bill Haslam unveiled this measured, focused proposal after careful study and input from stakeholders across the state. This year, Rep. Bill Dunn and Sen. Todd Gardenhire are sponsoring an identical proposal. The message is clear: Our lawmakers are aiming to rescue perishing kids trapped in failing schools with no economic option to move or transfer their way out of a failing situation.
Opponents, whether they’re from the Tennessee Education Association (the National Education Association’s Tennessee union chapter), the Transgender Political Coalition, the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), are clearly fighting to protect an ideology, even if that means sacrificing a child whose future is dictated by a ZIP code.
How can you oppose offering parents the option to remove their child from a failing school and equip them with an opportunity scholarship to choose another school that fits the needs and goals of their children?
This issue has devolved into a political divide that coalesces teachers’ unions and other far-left activist groups on one side and parents, children, and most Tennesseans who see the absurdity of holding children and their parents hostage to failing schools on the other side.
The opportunity scholarship’s projected value is $6,628 for each student compared to the current $9,123 per pupil state expenditure. The local education district keeps nearly $3,000 per student whether the parent chooses another public school or a private school. Yet, the teachers’ union and allied groups, who back in 2002 screamed for an income tax or else our schools would fail, now cries that letting fewer than 20,000 students leave a failing public school over three years would destabilize a system that spends more than $8 billion annually, the largest state government expense.
The Tennessee Choice and Opportunity Scholarship Act will provide an opportunity, not for the rich or those wanting to supplement private tuition, but for poor children who have no other options but to endure a failing school that has refused efforts to improve.
Reject teachers’ unions and educrats who embrace failure.
Say yes to SB 0999/HB 1049 that puts the students and their parents first.
Robin Smith immediate past chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, is owner of RiversEdge Alliance.