Will public schools suffer under vouchers? NO: Choice forces educators to improve

Faced with growing deficits and declining revenues, state governments throughout the nation are confronting the most daunting fiscal challenge in decades. For those looking for a silver lining, the current global economic crisis affords leaders an unprecedented chance to overhaul outdated and ineffective government-run programs.

Bold legislators in the Peach State are embracing this moment in history to make history themselves. This session, the Georgia General Assembly is considering one of the most ambitious education reforms ever proposed. New legislation would provide every single child with a voice in their education, building on the state’s successful corporate tax scholarship program and scholarship program for children with disabilities.

Enacting this law would transform education, and subsequently the economy, into a 21st-century model for the nation. A competitive system of schools will dramatically improve the quality of education and forge the path for a more prosperous future.

Just like in every other area of our lives, choice is a key factor for improving quality.

Just 10 years ago, Florida schools were failing and our students routinely scored at the bottom in the nation on standardized tests. Vouchers were one of the tools that spurred a turnaround.

In 1999, we created Opportunity Scholarships to give low-income families access to high performing schools — regardless of whether they were public, private or religious. Poor families were afforded the same opportunity as affluent families who have the money to attend private school. The successful program provided options for students in chronically failing schools and created competition that improved low-performing public schools.

State Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) and the courageous legislators advancing this bold legislation in Georgia will face fierce resistance to their proposal to offer vouchers to every child who wants one. Florida’s experience of giving low-income children a choice, however, proves that critics are simply wrong about the impact of vouchers. Vouchers do not trigger a mass exodus of students from public schools or ruin public education. Quite the contrary:

In the last year of Florida’s voucher program, less than 750 students opted for an Opportunity Scholarship — about half of one percent of the nearly 190,000 students in Florida public schools who were eligible. Ninety-five percent were minority students from low-income families.

Vouchers did not drain money from the public schools. During the eight years that Opportunity Scholarships were granted, Florida increased funding per student by 49 percent. In fact, the program actually saved money. The state paid an average of $4,000 for an Opportunity Scholarship rather than the $7,206 provided for a student attending public school.

Vouchers didn’t harm the quality of public education. In fact, research by Harvard and Cornell universities concluded that Florida’s choice programs actually improved the quality of education in public schools. Fearing the loss of students, public schools developed innovative ways to help students succeed, such as offering Saturday morning tutorials and after-school intervention.

There is irrefutable evidence our education reform formula is responsible for Florida’s rising student achievement. Nearly a quarter of a million more children are reading at or above grade level today than a decade ago. Florida is scoring above the national average in reading and math. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Education recently recognized Florida as one of five states to close the achievement gap for minority students.

In 2006, the Opportunity Scholarship Program came to an unfortunate end. The Florida Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that Opportunity Scholarships violated a state prohibition against state tax dollars being spent in support of religious schools. This despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that vouchers were constitutional if tax dollars followed the child to a school, even if it were a religious school.

As this trailblazing reform is considered in Georgia, I encourage lawmakers to place the needs of students ahead of the protection of adults in the education structure. Designing a child-centered system, where parents provide the ultimate accountability, will prepare all Georgia students for success in the competitive global marketplace.

• Jeb Bush is founder, CEO and president of the Foundation for Florida’s Future and the Foundation for Excellence in Education. He was the Republican governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007.