Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > February > 02 > Entry
Utah: First state to go all voucher?
Wow, this could be big news in the school choice world. Apparently, the Utah House of Representatives — by one vote — approved a bill that would allow all families to choose whatever sort of school, public or private, they prefer for their kids and use state money to pay at least part of the tuition. I don’t know enough about Utah politics to know how good the bill’s chances are to pass the state senate and become law.
This would be the first true voucher program consistent with the vision of economist Milton Friedman, who first argued that an unfettered market of parental choice would bring dramatic innovations that would improve instruction.
Before now, we’ve only see partial voucher programs in which only a few kids are eligible based on their income, what city they live in, whether they have certain disabilities. Ohio’s statewide voucher program is one of the nation’s biggest and it really only affects a few cities (especially Dayton).
Here is more from the Friedman Foundation, which advocates for school choice across the country:
For Immediate Release February 2, 2007
Utah House passes universal school choice Milton Friedman’s vision is one step closer to victory
INDIANAPOLIS—Today, the Utah House passed, by a vote of 38 to 37, what could become the nation’s first ever universal school voucher program. The legislation, House Bill 148, would allow every family in the state to have a choice in their child’s education and would become the first program to achieve Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman’s vision for universal school choice.
“ Utah is getting to the core of what education is all about — learning should be tailored to each student,” said Elisa Peterson, executive director of the Salt Lake City-based Parents for Choice in Education, which has led the local school choice effort. “ Utah parents want the freedom to choose education based on their child’s unique needs.”
HB 148, spearheaded by the tremendous leadership of Speaker Greg Curtis and bill sponsor Rep. Steve Urquhart, would establish the “Parent Choice in Education Act,” that would provide every Utah parent with school-aged children a voucher worth $500 to $3,000 that could be used at any eligible private school. Children currently enrolled in private school who meet the eligibility for free and reduced price lunch would also qualify for the voucher. The voucher amount will based on a families’ annual income.
“Utah’s children are smiling today…and somewhere so is Dr. Milton Friedman,” said Peterson. “How fitting that a bill giving choice to all of Utah’s children could be passed in the same week that Dr. Friedman was honored.”
On Monday, Milton Friedman, who passed away last November at the age of 94, was honored in cities around the country including Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Because of his 1955 essay on the role of government in education, Friedman is widely recognized as the father of the school voucher movement.
“This is the biggest step that has been taken toward achieving Milton Friedman’s dream of liberating children so they can reach their full potential,” said Patrick Byrne, president and CEO of Utah-based Overstock.com and Friedman Foundation board member. “This is the greatest social issue facing our country.”
HB 148 will now be sent on to the Utah Senate. In previous years, broad-based school choice programs have received much support in the Senate. Successful passage there would send the bill to Gov. John Huntsman, Jr., who signed the state’s special needs voucher bill in 2005.
“The victory today proves that in the end freedom always trumps fear,” said Robert C. Enlow, executive director and COO for the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. “Over the past six years, we have been honored to work with so many dedicated Utah legislators and local leaders. Their passion for educational freedom is what has made this possible.”
(Image credit: www.legendsofamerica.com)
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Charter Schools and School Choice
Comments
By keith
February 4, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this
Oldprof: We haven’t seen anything in the way of mass publicity about the shortcomings of the miracle schools such as charters that were going to show us how the public schools ought to be doing it… now that their record, if even the data is valid, show less performance than public schools, especially when the students can be handpicked.By Oldprof
February 4, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this
All vouchers? That will lead to either (a) greater government control (in the name of ‘accountability’) so there will be no true private schools (b) massive fraud, with for-profit private schools opening in every vacant storefront, glomming on the voucher money, and delivering nothing (c) such widespread confusion that the reps who voted for it will be pilloried. Or all of the above. Now, when it does NOTHING to improve education, I hope the Friedman apostles will publicly admit their folly.By Scott Elliott
February 3, 2007 11:55 PM | Link to this
We’ve had some serious technical problems with the blog lately. I think I’ve now fixed the three teacher pay posts. Try it again.By Keith
February 3, 2007 10:02 PM | Link to this
The three previous articles on teacher pay don’t load when I try to read them…By homeschoolmom
February 2, 2007 10:53 PM | Link to this
Hopefully, if the money is following the child, the publc schools will work even harder to straighten up. It will be interesting to see if this works and how well it may work.By Mary
February 2, 2007 8:00 PM | Link to this
This will not magically and immediately solve all education problems and it could even create some. However, I think parents and students need to be empowered more by having choices. As it is, parents and students seem to have limited say in what needs to be done in our schools. If this state operated on a voucher system, I would hope to see specialized schools form, including schools for gifted math and science students, students who want to learn foreign languages, etc regardless of what district a student lives in.By lou
February 2, 2007 7:47 PM | Link to this
This sounds like the beginning of the end of public education.