School Choice Programs

[George Dent]

                        School Choice Programs

        Michael Masinter says that the biggest difference between
public and private schools is that the former can not expel students
who do not wish to learn and who consume a disproportionate share of
the public schools' resources. I'm not sure this is true--the higher
academic and disciplinary aspirations of the private schools may be
more important than actual enforcement standards.

        But assuming that Michael is right, what follows? This is not
a sporting event in which the goal is to make a level playing field
between public and private schools. At the college level we do not
require private colleges to admit all high school graduates simply
because some public colleges are required to do so.

        Our goal should be to maximize freedom and educational accom-
plishment. If public schools are plagued by bad actors, all the more
reason to give parents the choice of sending their children to a pri-
vate school where their own education won't be hampered by those bad
actors. (Or, if their children are among the bad actors, allow parents
to send them to a private school where they might be motivated to act
better.)

                George Dent, Case Western Reserve Law School