Education
Free Market Friday: One size doesn’t fit all
April 29, 2016
Jonathan Small
There are a number of good reasons to support creation of an Education Savings Account program that provides Oklahoma parents a portion of their child’s per-pupil allocation for education to use for public or private school tuition and other services. But one of the best reasons is that no one school can meet the needs of all children who live in the local area, regardless of the best efforts of those who work in that school.
There are countless situations where a child would be better served in another setting. A child with special needs might require a school tailored for similar students, not one designed for the general population. A gifted and talented student might be bored in a traditional setting but excel in a rigorous college-preparatory school. The long-term success of low-income students currently trapped in schools where gang activity is rampant necessitates that they escape that climate. Some situations are almost unfathomable, such as when students are relentlessly bullied or abused at their assigned school. More options must be available for the vulnerable.
Every student has a different story and different needs, and there are countless situations where a child could benefit from the ability to obtain an education in a setting other than a geographically assigned school. Ironically, information put out by opponents of ESAs highlights this fact.