Thanks to these policymakers, the Henry scholarship program is now changing lives

Five years ago, Oklahoma enacted the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship Program for Children with Disabilities, a school voucher program which diverts public money to private schools in order to help children whose educational needs are not being met in their public school.

Many people deserve credit for the law's passage, chiefly state Rep. Jason Nelson (R-Oklahoma City) and state Sen. Patrick Anderson (R-Enid). But as we mark the fifth year of this innovative program which is rescuing children, it's worth remembering some of the other folks — indeed, some of the biggest boosters of our traditional public-school system — who helped make the Henry scholarship program a reality.

Former Gov. Brad Henry himself is, of course, at the top of that list. But I also think of state Rep. Lee Denney (R-Cushing), who is now Speaker Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma House. Certainly no one doubts Rep. Denney's commitment to public education: the author of a proposal to massively increase education funding, in each of the last two years she was a featured speaker at the big education rally at the state capitol. And yet in 2010 she voted for the Henry scholarship program.

So did state Rep. Todd Thomsen (R-Ada), another friend of public education. He too fights for increased education funding for schools. And let's not forget state Rep. Earl Sears (R-Bartlesville), who is now chairman of the powerful House Appropriations and Budget Committee. A longtime public school principal (not to mention my wife's junior-high woodshop teacher), no one doubts his commitment to public education. And yet, if it weren't for Earl Sears, Oklahoma would not have enacted a voucher program in 2010.

So hats off to these policymakers, and indeed to all who voted for the Henry scholarship legislation five years ago (House Speaker Jeff Hickman is another). The program is changing lives. Thanks to the Henry scholarships, some children are no longer suicidal. Others are being transformed in spectacular ways. And others are able to attend a school which provides them a Christ-centered education. It is truly a program worth celebrating.

Rally organizers overpromise, underdeliver

"Organizers of Monday's rally hope as many as 50,000 will attend ..."
— The Associated Press, March 30, 2015

"More than 7,000 educators, parents and schoolchildren rallied at the state Capitol on Monday ..."
— The Associated Press, later that day

School choice will help rural areas, too

Excellent piece by Jeff Judson.

Profits in public education

Some defenders of Oklahoma's monopoly school system don't like public charter schools, and they really don't like (trigger warning!) "for-profit" charter schools. Something about the Koch brothers dispatching their evil minions to an ALEC meeting to club baby seals and privatize education for rapacious gain. In reality, however, only 10 to 15 percent of charter schools nationwide hire a for-profit entity to manage certain aspects of the school. The number is even lower in Oklahoma. (Which is a pity, because profits are a good thing.)

Fed up with these "nobody should make a profit from public education" sentiments, Dr. Terry Stoops at the John Locke Foundation decided to put together a partial list of those who make a profit from public education:

1. Computer companies – all schools have computers, hand-held devices, and other hardware in them
2. Software companies – those computers have software on them
3. Furniture companies – kids gotta sit on something and write on something else
4. School bus companies – until someone invents the Transporter, we’ll have to use buses
5. Textbook companies – the Gideons have no school textbook equivalent
6. School supply companies – pencils! pens! reams of paper! chemistry equipment!
7. Instructional technology companies – those video and audio systems, e.g., Smart Boards, are not free
8. Television companies – many classrooms come equipped with a TV (and sometimes a DVD player too)
9. Landowners, Realtors, construction companies, contractors, and suppliers – building and maintaining schools requires working with (gasp!) for-profit businesses
10. Food and beverage suppliers – think school lunches, vending machines, and snack bars
11. Copier companies – copiers are teachers’ best friend or worst nightmare
12. Athletic equipment – for physical education
13. Musical instruments – for music education
14. Art supplies – for art education
15. Energy companies – many things run on electricity these days

Doubtless there are others, but you get the point. And I haven't even mentioned the one-percenter who's paid a third of a million dollars to preside over the woeful Tulsa school district. Talk about for-profit management!

Jay teacher charged with lewd molestation

"Delaware County prosecutors have charged a coach at Jay Public Schools with two felony counts of lewd molestation," the News on 6 reports.

Economist is thankful for low teacher pay

"We should celebrate rather than bemoan the fact that teachers are paid less than the likes of CEOs, professional athletes, and movie stars," economist Donald J. Boudreaux writes in an open letter to Robert Reich.

Low teacher pay means that the number of people willing and able to work as K-12 teachers is already quite large. Precisely because education is especially important, we are blessed that so many people are willing to work as teachers that the cost to society of each teacher is relatively low. Given the number of school-age children, higher teacher salaries would be evidence that fewer people than is actually the case today are willing to work as teachers. That situation would be one to lament, not cheer.

In case you still don’t see my point, let me ask if you believe that the pay of physicians should rise. After all, healthcare, like education, is vitally important. So by your logic, we should artificially raise the pay of physicians in order to encourage more people to become doctors. Yet, of course, we want healthcare to be more, not less, affordable. The same is true for education. Unfortunately, the supply of physicians is so low that the resulting pay of physicians is unusually high.

So let’s be thankful rather than regretful that we don’t suffer the same problem in education that we suffer in healthcare. Let’s toast the fact that—as the relatively low pay of teachers reflects—a large number of people are today willing and able to work as teachers.

Oklahoma senator wants to close the school-predator loophole

"Here is a far too familiar scenario," writes state Sen. Kyle Loveless:

A teacher rapes a child, and both the teacher and student say it was consensual — even though it’s still legally rape and there are some cases where the victim is as young as 12. The school district and parents don’t want the public scrutiny so the district, parents of the victim and the predator agree that the perpetrator will no longer teach in that school district. Everyone agrees and the cover-up has begun.

The predator needs to keep working, so he or she moves to another school district that has no idea of the situation that led to the resignation; school districts can’t communicate with each other on personnel matters.

You can read his entire article here.

Black parents are taking schooling into their own hands

Thousands of African Americans nationwide "are homeschooling their children and persuading other families to join in a growing movement," Jonetta Rose Barras reports in Washington City Paper. "They see their actions as a strong defense against what they consider an inadequate and increasingly hostile system of public education. For them, homeschooling also is a viable tool for constructing in their children a positive self-confidence and uncompromising appreciation for black history and culture."

Online public schools now enrolling for 2015-16 school year

Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy and Insight School of Oklahoma have now opened enrollment for students looking to attend in the 2015-2016 school year.

School has let racial bullying continue

A frustrated grandfather tells his story.

Western Heights coach charged with second-degree rape of student

KOCO has the story.

Level the playing field

"A March 17 editorial supporting charter schools stated: 'Charter schools are public schools that are run with many of the benefits of private schools, including exemptions from many education rules and regulations,'" Chuck Bowlin of Broken Arrow writes in a letter published by the Tulsa World. "Why not do away with those 'education rules and regulations' for all schools?"

Accountability in private-school choice programs

Here's a new report from NCSL.