Every Oklahoma parent now has educational options

Survey data tell us that roughly one in three Oklahomans would choose a private school for their children if given the option.

Well, now they have the option. Oklahoma has three private-school-choice programs from which to choose.

1. Beginning in tax year 2024, a refundable income-tax credit (in effect, a voucher) is available to parents who incur private-school tuition expenses or homeschool expenses. Student eligibility is universal, meaning it extends to any Oklahoma resident who is eligible to enroll in a public school. More details here and here.
2. Many students in Oklahoma—special-education students, foster kids, children adopted out of state custody, and more—are eligible for a Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship. More details here.
3. Most students in Oklahoma are eligible to apply for a private-school scholarship funded by private donations (for which donors receive a state tax credit). Learn more about the program here, and explore schools and scholarship opportunities here, here, here, and here.

School choice timeline

"School choice may seem like a new idea," the Cato Institute points out. "But as this timeline shows, empowering families to choose has a long history, both as an idea and in practice."

Still moving in the right direction

[UPDATE: This post was updated on May 25, 2023.]

I joined the OCPA board in 1994 then left to join the staff in 1995. For nearly three decades now, I’ve been making the case in numerous publications and public forums that every parent should be empowered to take their child’s per-student spending to the school of their choice.

Fifteen years ago, before Oklahoma had any private-school choice programs, The Oklahoman asked me for a column on what I thought education in Oklahoma would look like in 25 years. My answer: “I don't know. The God of history—‘Divine Providence,’ in the words of the signers of the Declaration—stands outside of history and directs it without consulting me.” But with that caveat in place, I went on to explain why I thought Oklahoma would increasingly embrace parental choice in education.

“We should seek to restore the American tradition of educational freedom and consumer choice, a tradition that predates and lasted longer than our current practice of delivering education through a monopoly,” I wrote. “There’s good reason to believe we’ll move in that direction in the next 25 years.”

And indeed we have. Oklahoma now has two private-school scholarship programs, and most Oklahoma students are eligible to apply. We still have a long way to go—an Oklahoma Empowerment Account for any parent who wants one (still a possibility for 2022)—but it’s pretty clear to me that the momentum is on our side. Indeed, the destructive trends we’re seeing in the government’s system leave me more optimistic than ever that policymakers will eventually get it right.

Having lived through the history represented in the table below, I am unfazed by any one roll call in any one legislative chamber in any one year. In public policy, longtime Heritage Foundation president Ed Feulner likes to say, “there are no permanent victories or permanent defeats, just permanent battles.” Year after year, the goal remains the same: We win, and they lose.

Year	Major Private-School Choice Victories in Oklahoma
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010	Created a private-school voucher program for special-needs students
2011	Created a private-school tax-credit scholarship program
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017	Expanded voucher eligibility to foster children and children adopted out of state custody
2018
2019
2020
2021	Raised the tax-credit cap for private-school scholarships to $25 million
2022
2023	Enacted universal school choice.
2024	TBD

The sky didn't fall

"When states consider expanding school-choice policies, opponents inevitably start claiming that the sky is falling on public education." It's not, and the good folks at EdChoice have the receipts.

Are teachers unions' reactions to coronavirus accidentally creating school choice?

"Paradoxically," writes Lindsey Burke, "the teachers unions may be enabling the free-market, parent-driven reform of K-12 education to unfold."

My assigned district school? Some say no thanks

School choice is further along in some other places than it is in Oklahoma.

For example, the Raleigh News & Observer reports today ("1 in 5 NC students don’t attend traditional public schools, new figures show") that "the percentage of North Carolina’s 1.8 million K-12 students attending traditional public schools dropped to 79.9% this year."

Last week in the Tallahassee Democrat, former OCPA research assistant Patrick Gibbons pointed out that "in the span of a generation, Florida has gone from 10 percent of students attending something other than assigned public schools to 47 percent." Education researcher Matt Ladner has noted that in greater Phoenix "fewer than 50% of students attend their assigned district school."

Oklahoma is not there yet, but we're moving in that direction. One hopes that over time our political leaders will align public policy more and more with their constituents' preferences. 

Lawmakers advance measures increasing cap for tax credits

The Tulsa World has the story. Senate committee roll call is here. House committee roll call is here.

Compelling op-eds by bill authors Sen. Dave Rader ("Opportunity scholarships are vital to Tulsa’s ongoing renaissance") and Rep. John Echols ("Opportunity scholarships vital to 'Oklahoma's Turnaround'") ran earlier this week in the state's two largest newspapers.

Oklahoma expands its private-school choice programs

Oklahoma has two important private-school choice programs. Happily, our state's political leaders expanded both programs during the 2017 legislative session.

Our school voucher program, enacted in 2010, is helping rural students who want a faith-based education, bullied children who contemplated suicide, autistic students, and more.

In 2017, SB 301 expanded the eligibility for this voucher program. Formerly limited to students on an IEP, eligibility now extends to children in foster care (a 2015 OCPA recommendation) and children adopted out of state custody. Click here to see how your state senator voted. Click here to see how your state representative voted. [Updates: State Sen. AJ Griffin discusses the legislation here. Oklahoma Watch reports on the legislation here.]

Oklahoma's tax-credit scholarship program, enacted in 2011, is helping hearing-impaired children, homeless students, teenage students battling addiction, and more.

In 2017, SB 445 made more cap space available for this tax-credit scholarship program. Click here to see how your state senator voted. Click here to see how your state representative voted.

It should come as no surprise that a Republican government would expand parental-choice options. The GOP platforms, both nationally and in Oklahoma, place a strong emphasis on parental rights and educational choice. Moreover, no fewer than seven public-opinion surveys conducted by reputable polling firms over the last few years have shown strong support for school choice among Republican voters. This, of course, helps to explain why Republican political leaders support school choice. Most notable are President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. (They are embracing the views held by the great President Ronald Reagan, who in his day proposed "a tuition tax credit plan," "a voucher system," and "education savings accounts.") Here at home, Sen. James Lankford, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, Gov. Mary Fallin, and others support educational choice.

Given those realities, it's disappointing that school choice hasn't made even more progress. "I think Oklahoma has been way too slow" at expanding school choice, Scott Pruitt told me in 2015. "It's shocking to me, when you look at the individuals that make up our legislative bodies, how most of them are conservative in their viewpoint, they ought to be seizing this opportunity—now—to make Oklahoma the most choice-friendly state in the country."

Unfortunately, that hasn't happened, in part because many of the Republicans in our legislative bodies arrived via the Trojan Horse dragged in by GOP campaign consultants. Regrettably, these operatives are more concerned with collecting lucrative fees than with electing candidates from the Republican wing of the Republican party. And school choice hasn't been the only casualty: Republican politicians, claiming there's a budget "crisis," also continue to raise taxes and increase government spending—even though the CAFR tells us (on page 193) that total state spending is at an all-time high. (You likely didn't know that—but you would if journalists would report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.)

Still, kudos to Oklahoma's political leaders for taking these baby steps toward securing parental rights. There's much more work to be done. All parents have the moral right to direct their child's path. As private-school choice advocate Martin Luther King III says, "fairness demands that every child, not just the rich, has access to an education that will help them achieve their dreams."

Government schools: Sowing the seeds of our destruction

"Several years ago, the Independent Institute honored Andy Garcia at our unforgettable Gala for Liberty," Mary Theroux writes.

There was not a dry eye in the house (including his) as Andy Garcia recounted his memories of leaving his home, Cuba, at the age of 5. 

Once the Castros had seized power, they passed a law giving the State full rights over all children. As I had been taught by my true-believing Marxist Development Economics professors at Stanford, this is how you build the “New Man” that makes Socialism the ideal society. 

Cuban parents not wanting their children to be raw material for Marxist experiments, instead made the ultimate sacrifice and turned their children over to the Catholic church’s Peter Pan project, under which their children were flown to live in freedom with families in the United States—not knowing if they would ever see their children again, and many of whom did not. 

After Andy Garcia’s mother reported to his father that she had seen Andy (at the age of 5) marching and singing the Internationale, his family joined the exodus. Fortunately, Andy’s father was able to later also leave Cuba, and the family was reunited in Florida.

Read the whole thing here.

Vindictive-resentment watch

Vouchers shift the balance of power to
consumers—who can vote with their feet.

"The most vindictive resentment," Isabel Paterson understood more than 70 years ago, "may be expected from the pedagogic profession for any suggestion that they should be dislodged from their dictatorial position."

That resentment was on full display this week. FOX 23 reported on an Owasso High School teacher who was disgusted with Tuesday's election results, especially with the fact that Oklahomans elected people to office who favor school vouchers. This teacher told his students that Oklahomans have elected “uninformed, ignorant, racist pieces of [bleep].”

It's not the only time we've seen some rather startling language from Oklahoma educators who either weren't coping well with the election results or who resent educational reform.

English teacher Jennifer Williams, who is tired of "f*ing platitudes," says "people are generally such selfish assholes that they rarely surprise me." And after the election of Mr. Trump, she is especially critical of white people: "White people are the deliberately blind, ignorant, deaf, tunnel-visioned voters. ... Actually, it's been awhile since I was offended by anyone other than white people. ... I'm so incensed by white women I could actually do harm. ... Jesus, White women. If you're really wanting equality, it ain't comin' from your White men. Why do we need to completely sh*t on women of other races? Do you realize how stupid you are? ... [W]e are such competitive and power-grubbing bitches ... Why can't White men release their death grip on their power and the government and the nation? ... Whites are sucking the life from America, denying our country any possible chance at greatness. No one and nothing can ever be great if you've stolen, murdered, pillaged, and raped to achieve power."

For his part, Tulsa Union teacher Dallas Koehn hasn't been bashful about using words like "sh*tting on people," "a**hole," a "clusterf*ck," "shut the $%#&@ up," and "kiss my big fat angry blogging a**, you sick twisted lying $#%&ers."

Music teacher (and minister's wife) Mindy Dennison has instructed certain school-choice proponents to kiss her a**.

Tulsa teacher Cory Williams has no patience for state lawmakers who "can't seem to find their ass with both hands without taking money from education and giving it to oil companies."

Mid-Del superintendent Rick Cobb, no fan of the state's A-F grading system, says "A-F that is right!"

Sand Springs administrator Rob Miller says "when I stumble upon a big steaming pile of festering crap I tend to say, 'Hey look, there’s a pile of sh*t.'"

Retired teacher Claudia Swisher, apparently believing hostility to be the best fundraising posture, instructs policymakers: "Fund us. Support us. Or STF (flip) U."

Mid-Del middle-school teacher Aaron Baker helpfully informs us that "public schools are the sh*t!" and celebrates the "strength to kick a**."

Ardmore teacher Alison Scott wishes Donald Trump's would-be assassin "had a better scope."

School-choice foe Mark McBride, a state lawmaker wholly owned by the teachers union and other education special interests, was upset with a black conservative who dared oppose McBride's anti-school-choice legislation. In a public setting in the Oklahoma state Capitol, McBride flipped off the conservative and called him the "f" word, a piece of s***, and a derogatory word for male genitalia.

Oklahoma teacher Emily Busey-Templeton pronounces it heroic to flip off people with whom we disagree.

Retired teacher Betsy Enis, not a fan of this article, pronounces it "total bullsh*t!" (She also doesn't like "Republican a**hole legislators.")

As we approach 2017, the taxpaying parents of 100,000 Oklahoma students, despite being compelled to pay for public education, have in effect said to public school officials: "Your product is sufficiently unattractive to us that you can't even give it away." Moreover, Oklahoma has enacted a private-school voucher program and a tax-credit scholarship program. And as we move ever closer to Rod Paige's vision of universal school choice—by expanding our current programs, enacting ESAs, providing for individual tax credits, and more—I suspect the vindictive resentment will grow.

What's especially disappointing is the hostility from some Oklahoma educators toward parents who want a faith-based education for their children. Rob Miller, for example, says: "If you are a parent who wants to use the Bible as your child’s Biology text, ESAs are for you." The online Oklahoma Education Journal posted a video with a similarly uninformed and uncharitable portrayal of Christ-centered education. The viewer will notice the unflattering setting and the mockery of "God’s Li’l Voucher School, Inc." which delivers "cutting-edge religious creation-science."

Happily, the vast majority of Oklahoma educators would never resort to vapid caricatures of private schools. (Indeed, 4 in 10 Oklahoma teachers would choose private or home education for their own children.) The vast majority of Oklahoma teachers would never refer to elected officials as "racist pieces of [bleep]." And that's good. Because parents want exemplary role models for their children, understanding full well that "a student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."

And speaking of role models, the following signs were seen at the 2018 teacher strike. Let us fervently hope that these people are not actually teachers:

I realize this is the era of Trump, but why is Oklahoma's Democrat nominee for governor retweeting "GTFO"?

[This post has been updated to include colorful new quotes from #OklaEd boosters.]

A new chapter for Friedman

Milton Friedman helped revitalize Americans' interest in freedom, Jonathan Small writes today in The Journal Record. And his legacy foundation, the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, is now EdChoice:

Education reformers are winning the long game

"When Oklahoma and other states first authorized charter schools, charters were detested by the education establishment," The Oklahoman editorializes today. "In 1999, an official with the Oklahoma State School Board Association even compared charter school supporters to Nazi propagandists."

But the subsequent successes of charter schools, which are now undeniable, have forced a reassessment. Few things highlight this fact more than the overwhelming bipartisan support given to a new law that will allow traditional public schools to duplicate many elements of the charter model. ... 

House Bill 2720 would allow a board of education in any traditional school district to convert a school site to a “conversion” school that would operate free of many those same restrictions, making the school a charter school in all but name. 

Notably, HB 2720 was authored by Rep. Emily Virgin, a Norman Democrat who lands well on the liberal side of the political spectrum. And it's notable that HB 2720 passed without opposition in the Senate, and in the House on a bipartisan 76-19 vote. So even many Democrats who previously criticized charter schools as somehow undermining the traditional public school system are now tacitly acknowledging the success of the charter model. ... 

[T]he biggest takeaway from the easy passage of this new law is that education reformers are winning the battle, despite the long, hard slog. Some current reform proposals, such as education savings accounts, are attacked with ferocity. Yet the same thing was once true of charter schools, and now that reform is widely accepted. 

Few things are a surer sign of victory than seeing former opponents quietly stroll to your side of the aisle.

Onward

Nine years ago, The Oklahoman asked me for a column on what I thought education in Oklahoma would look like in 25 years. My answer: "I don't know. The God of history—'Divine Providence,' in the words of the signers of the Declaration—stands outside of history and directs it without consulting me." But with that caveat in place, I did suggest that there's good reason to believe that Oklahoma would increasingly embrace parental choice in education.

That prediction looks pretty good so far (we have enacted vouchers and tax credits, for example), and I thought of it today when I read Andrew Spiropoulos's column in The Journal Record. "While it is disappointing that education savings account legislation is unlikely to be passed this session," he wrote, "this year’s effort proved why its enactment is inevitable." And though I will stop short of "inevitable" (see paragraph above), I do share Spiropoulos's optimism.

It's frustrating when ESAs aren't brought to the floor because they don't have the votes. But it's even more frustrating when ESAs aren't brought to the floor because they do have the votes. (I think we saw both this year.) Happily, I do believe the floor action will eventually come. And given what we know about parents' wishes, I do not believe the education establishment's rearguard action to protect its monopoly can hold year after year.

So is parental choice inevitable? I won't say that. But I am more confident today than I was nine years ago that it will continue to advance.

The year of educational choice

Jason Bedrick has the final tally.

Forward-looking superintendent says ‘a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective’

In a recent blog post containing an admirable and honest bit of self-examination (“A Long Gaze in the Mirror”), Sand Springs assistant superintendent Rob Miller made the point that there are many policies and practices in the public school system—“self-inflicted wounds,” some of them—which Mr. Miller believes could be unhealthy. This one caught my eye:

Allowing parents to make choices about placement (gifted/talented pods, magnet schools, selective programs) to keep their child away from “those kids.”

It seems to me there are a few troubling assumptions baked into that statement. First, notice the word “allowing.” School leaders are granting permission to the people who are paying their salaries.

Second, notice that school officials are allowing parents to make choices. It’s well-known that the hireling doesn’t care for the sheep like the shepherd does. And yet the assumption here is that the very people who conceived and bore the children, who love the children more than any government official ever could, shouldn’t be permitted to direct their children’s path.

Third, Mr. Miller appears to assume jurisdiction over some parents’ motives—and to ascribe dishonorable ones. Isn’t it possible that parents could have valid educational reasons—reasons that have nothing to do with “those kids”—for wanting particular educational options for their children? In any case, regardless of the parents' motives, I refer you to the two preceding paragraphs.

Alberto M. Carvalho

In stark contrast, note the actions of another school administrator that very same day. Alberto M. Carvalho, the superintendent of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, unveiled 53 new choice and magnet program offerings for the new school year—bringing the district’s total number of choice programs to more than 500.

“Students and teachers of Miami-Dade County Public Schools are in for another exciting year of innovative programs and initiatives,” he said. “We understand that a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective. That said, we have once again tailored our educational programs to meet the personalized needs of students and provide them with specialized resources to ensure they have every opportunity to excel academically.”

Mr. Carvalho is the same superintendent who last year said, “Rather than complain about the incoming tsunami of choice, we’re going to ride it.”

Vouchers are a victory for liberty

"Vouchers for education advance a far more spontaneous order than direct government control of schools," writes Northwestern University law professor John O. McGinnis.

'The first truly 21st-century education model'

"The emergence of education savings accounts may mark the beginning of the end for an ossified education-delivery system that is has changed little since the 19th century," Clint Bolick writes in The Wall Street Journal.

It begins an important shift of government from a monopoly provider of education into an enabler of education in whatever form or forum it most benefits the child. By reducing the need for bureaucracies and capital construction, education savings accounts can reverse the ever-growing costs of public education, even as the accounts provide resources for families to save for college. ... Most important, they hitch public policy to infinite technological possibilities, creating the first truly 21st-century education model wherein public funding follows the child.

School choice marches on

The state's largest newspaper says today that 2015 is shaping up to be a good year for educational choice.

Educational choice continues to grow

"Private school choice initiatives have become increasingly common across the United States," Patrick Wolf writes. "Far from being rare and untested, private school choice policies are an integral part of the fabric of American education policy."

A missed opportunity on ESAs

"State lawmakers missed a major opportunity this week by failing to provide Oklahoma parents greater educational choices," the state's largest newspaper editorializes today.

A bill by Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, would have allowed parents to use some state education funding to send a child to private school, or for tutoring or other education services. The legislation passed two committees, but too many Republicans appeared uneasy about approving it on the Senate floor. Jolley chose to lay the bill over for a year to try to build support and better educate fellow lawmakers on the issue. The legislation could have benefited every child in Oklahoma, would have increased per-pupil funding in public schools, and provided parents multiple, market-based education options instead of a one-size-fits-all, big-government solution. In short, the bill should have been a slam-dunk based on the merits. The bill’s backers expected to have a tough time selling the idea, but the lack of support is disappointing nonetheless.

Disappointing, yes, but the quest for educational freedom is a marathon, not a sprint, and we're still in the early stages of the race. Private-school choice continues to grow year by year, and Adam Peshek reports that this year at least 22 state legislatures are pursuing or considering ESAs.