There’s certainly no shortage of high-minded, romantic sentiments about the purpose of our public education system. But what is its purpose, really? 

The systems theorist Stafford Beer, who coined the term “POSIWID” (The Purpose of a System Is What It Does), once remarked: “The purpose of a system is what it does. There is, after all, no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do.”

According to Heritage Foundation scholar Matthew Ladner, applying POSIWID to America’s public education system “leads to the inevitable conclusion that the system operates to increase spending and adult employment.”

At $13,081 per student in 2022-23, Oklahoma’s education spending is at an all-time high. As state Rep. Rhonda Baker (R-Yukon) exulted in 2023: “Each year I have served in the House of Representatives, we have worked to pass historic education funding. This year's plan surpasses them all.” 

The Oklahoma Education Association similarly lauded the “historic investment for public education,” while Oklahoma State School Boards Association executive director Shawn Hime pronounced it “really game-changing for public education.” Added state Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore): “We've worked to make our public education budget the biggest and best in our state's history.”

But along with this record-high funding came universal school choice in the form of Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit program. As Rep. Baker put it, “We are trying to make sure that every child within this state, whether they’re public-school educated or private-school educated, that those families have a choice.”

This is good policy. American Enterprise Institute scholar Robert Pondiscio puts it this way: “It’s settled. We socialize the cost of educating every child; even the childless pay school taxes. The only question is whether the government exclusively should run schools or (like most other countries) merely fund them.” By enacting universal school choice in 2023, Oklahoma’s political leaders answered that question correctly.

Unsurprisingly, many journalists and left-wing activists (to the extent those can be distinguished) are not happy about it. Many of these defenders of Oklahoma’s unaccountable public schools profess concern over things like private-school accreditation and accountability. 

One has to chuckle. Because in reality, “there is no entity in America that is less accountable than a government-run school system,” says retired public school teacher Larry Sand. Private schools, by contrast, are accountable to parents. “The ultimate accountability for anything is you moving your dollars away,” says Oklahoma Senate leader Greg Treat. “Parents will keep these educational institutions more honest than any government intervention could.”

Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit program is excellent but can be improved. In 2025, state lawmakers should eliminate the total ($250 million) cap on the program. If lawmakers are unwilling to do that, they should at least build in a demand-driven escalator that automatically increases the cap amount whenever the cap is almost reached. 

In addition, lawmakers should allow any private school that is licensed by the state to participate in the program. If lawmakers are unwilling to do that, they should allow private schools that are seeking accreditation to participate in the program.