The Indiana State Supreme Court just upheld former Governor Mitch Daniels’s signature legislation, which has expanded a state-sponsored school voucher program. Protests from legal opponents argued that the voucher program was providing state funds to private religious institutions. Not so, countered the ruling majority, which correctly pointed out that the parents directly receive the funding, which they then invest in the school of their choice.
Now, the Governors of Virginia and Tennessee have advanced a similar program, in which students in struggling schools can enroll in a better school, regardless of the zipcode in which the family lives or where the school resides.
If Tennessee, Virginia, and Indiana have instituted school choice, why can’t California legislators follow their brave example? Democrats, who claim to care about equity and fairness, must extend “open enrollment” to all California students.
Contact your state legislators. Tell them to support SB 451 (statewide open enrollment).