Morning Shots

Utah has just approved the nation’s first universal school choice program, and in New York, Eliot Spitzer has become the first Democratic governor to propose a private school choice program in his state budget. These two firsts are a major shot in the arm for education reform, and they offer a glimpse of the possibilities to come.

With the Utah House voting 38-37 and the Utah Senate voting 19-10, the Republican-dominated Legislature passed the nation’s first general — rather than targeted — school choice program, and Governor Huntsman, a Republican, signed it into law. There’s still a long way to go until this program has a chance to mature into something that will revolutionize education. Private schools will be concerned that the political tides might turn against the program, and even with certainty that the program will stay, it will take time for them to respond to families’ demands.

Caveats aside, Utah has breached a major barrier to real education reform. Past programs, like those in Wisconsin and Ohio, have targeted small, special populations such as children with disabilities or low-income children. Utah’s is the first program to treat school choice as a general education reform that can and should help all citizens. Every family deserves a real choice of schools, all children deserve an education that works for them, and all taxpayers deserve control over how their education dollars are spent.

Unfortunately, the Utah victory shows that Democrats are still strongly opposed to vouchers, and Republicans remain ambivalent. Not one Democratic legislator voted for the voucher bill, and only an overwhelming Republican majority allowed it to pass. But a hefty 31% of Republican representatives voted "nay" with the Democrats.

Fortunately, another recent turning point provides hope that the political problems of school choice can be substantially mitigated. Governor Spitzer proposed a

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At a conference last spring, Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman reflected on the state of education reform and the movement to implement widespread school choice. Ever the optimist, Dr. Friedman expressed confidence that America was close to embracing his vision of widespread parental choice in education. What was needed, Dr. Friedman argued, was for one state to implement universal school choice. Once that happened, other states and communities would begin to follow suit.

Unfortunately, Milton Friedman left us in November–only a month before that critical step toward his vision was realized. On Monday, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman signed into law the nation’s first universal school voucher initiative. This fall, 500,000 children in Utah’s public schools will be eligible to use a school voucher to help pay for private schooling. By 2020, every child in the state will be eligible to receive vouchers. (For more information, see Dan Lips and Evan Feinberg, “Utah’s Revolutionary New School Voucher Program,” Heritage Foundation WebMemo No. 1362, February 16, 2007.)

By implementing this path toward universal vouchers, Utah will provide other states and communities with a model of widespread parental choice in education. If history is any guide, Utah’s program will inspire lawmakers across the country to develop and implement similar plans, as Dr. Friedman envisioned.

In 1990, Wisconsin lawmakers created a pioneering school voucher program for low-income students in Milwaukee. Back then, only 337 children participated. Today, more than 17,000 children are using vouchers to attend private schools in Milwaukee. The program has proven popular with families and effective in improving learning opportunities for participating children.

Thanks to this success, the Milwaukee program has inspired policymakers in other states to create similar programs. In 1996, Ohio legislators created a school voucher program for Cleveland. More recently, Florida lawmakers created a statewide school

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It is increasingly apparent that the D.C. Council, chaired by Vince Gray, is going to give Mayor Fenty what he wants. In one form or another, he’ll get control of the schools. Everyone has their own view on this matter. I think reasonable minds can disagree on this, but for me, a better governance structure is a necessary condition for fixing D.C. schools. It is not alone sufficient—it is no panacea. But it is a necessary step.

Okay, then what? A lot of people will want to focus on direct schooling reforms—things like accountability, professional development, special education (until that is fixed nothing else can be solved), and teacher and principal quality. That stuff is hugely important, for sure.

I want to talk about something else, however–something that can be done at the same time as these schooling reforms. I propose that the Mayor, his education team, and Gray announce a city-wide call for public support of D.C. schools. I don’t have a catchy title—the communications gurus can come up with one—but the basic idea is this.

First, follow up on Colby King’s excellent suggestion in the Washington Post. In a truly inspired column, King wrote:

This is African American history month. Fenty and Gray should make history.

They should convene an emergency session with the heads of organizations such as the Links, AKAs, Deltas, Zetas and Sigmas and other professional and social women’s groups with rich experience in dealing with young women. Bring in Brenda Miller, ministers and college presidents. Tap the leadership of active high school alumni associations, such as Dunbar and Roosevelt’s.

Do the same thing with male professional and fraternal groups (Kappas, Omegas, Alphas, Sigmas, Peaceoholics, Elks, Masons, etc.). Make it racially inclusive.

Enlist from these groups an army of adult volunteers to serve under an official Fenty-Gray

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