Union leaders want to keep kids trapped in public schools as guaranteed clientele for union teachers
This morning, the Indiana State Teachers Association filed a lawsuit in Marion Superior Court to block the implementation of the state’s new school voucher program.
ISTA is hoping to block the program on grounds that it violates the separation of church and state, since families could use state vouchers to attend religious schools.
We believe ISTA’s real motivation is the $65.8 million that union-controlled schools stand to lose if Indiana families are allowed to choose non-government schools for their children.
ISTA wants kids to remain trapped within geographic school district boundaries, sometimes in very bad schools, so public school districts and union teachers will maintain a guaranteed clientele of students and the state dollars that come with them.
That’s a very selfish reason for trying to kill school choice.
Studies have found that when schools compete for customers, all students benefit. The students who use the vouchers to attend a private school obviously benefit, and the students who remain in the neighborhood public school also benefit. That’s because competition for students forces traditional union schools to improve instruction or face extinction.
The government is only obligated to provide a public education to Indiana students. There is nothing that says that education must take place in a government-run school. By allowing the money to follow the child, the state is performing its Constitutionally-mandated duty.
We believe Hoosier parents are in the best position to decide where their children attend school. All children learn differently and have unique talents. Vouchers allow families to find the schools that best serve their children. A one-size-fits-all government school simply doesn’t make sense for many students.
Indiana lawmakers recognized that, and finally set families free to chart the course of their childrens’ education. The self-serving ISTA should not be allowed to steal that freedom away.
For decades, ISTA has managed to dominate the state’s public education system and tailor it to meet union needs. This voucher law threatens to undo the ISTA monopoly by allowing families to pick the best schools for their children.
The legislature was bold in passing this voucher plan. Lawmakers knew it was the single best way to improve public education for Indiana’s students. But what’s best for students is not best for the union, and the union is fighting for its very existence. That’s what this lawsuit is really about, no matter how ISTA leaders try to dress it up.
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