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Oklahoma taxpayers are getting public school results at elite prep school prices, yet the union demands more money-even if it means raising your taxes. Audacity, anyone?

On June 26 USA Today reported on the findings of a preschool study which concludes that Oklahoma’s government-run preschool gives a boost to the performance of all students in the short-term. This is news because the collective conclusions of previous studies overwhelmingly suggest that preschool boosts at-risk children in the short-term, but not children from middle- and upper-income families.

A tax credit for donations to scholarship programs geared to autistic children, however, might be close to a free lunch for the reasons described. Though it's no panacea, it is a simple and elegant solution that would help a large number of families.

Another state legislative session has come and gone, and again this year the education establishment was able to squash legislation which would have given parents more school choices.

In his effort to expand non-parental child care, Gov. Henry is citing the available research on the subject quite selectively. By promoting surrogate parenting for three-year-olds while disregarding the research exposing its risks, Henry and his allies are doing the children no favors.

The utopian allure of group care for small children is a recurring theme in human history. The most recent listener to this ancient sirens' song appears to be Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry.

"Fundamentally, the early education discussion is not about the effectiveness or cost of the programs. At heart is the question of in whose hands the responsibility for young children rests," Olsen said. "Further entrenching the state into the lives of young children cannot be squared with a free society that cherishes the primacy of the family over the state.

With Oklahoma ranking first in the nation in the percentage of four-year-olds enrolled in preschool (60 percent), Oklahoma officials like to boast that the state has established itself as a national leader in "enabling children to enter school prepared to learn and succeed." State Superintendent Sandy Garrett declares emphatically, "Children benefit greatly from school readiness efforts."

The Oklahoma legislature should reconsider SB 37 and the recommendations made by the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Education. They should invest in families, rather than government programs, to improve the well-being of Oklahoma’s children.

[The following remarks were delivered October 23 at an OCPA dinner in Tulsa.]