Colleen Hroncich
As I think about Independence Day tomorrow, I see educational freedom as a cornerstone of liberty. In contrast to most of American society, however, our school system is rooted in coercion, not liberty. Starting in the mid-1800s, states have mandated that children attend taxpayer-funded, government-run schools that they are generally assigned to based on where they live.
Fortunately, educational freedom is on the march through programs that allow state funding to follow students to learning options beyond their assigned schools. But a federal school choice program, such as the one included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act currently being debated in the House of Representatives, is not the way to go.
The first modern school voucher program was launched in Milwaukee in 1990. Since then, states have enacted myriad policies aimed at expanding educational freedom. Tax credit scholarship programs provide individuals or businesses with credits against their state taxes in exchange for donations to scholarship-granting organizations. Education savings accounts allow state funds to be used for a variety of education expenses in addition to private school tuition. Refundable tax credits give individual parents a tax credit based on how much they spend on tuition or other education expenses.
Of course, as is the case anytime government gets involved in something, politics often gets in the way of these programs. When it comes to education in America, the teachers’ unions—with their million-dollar war chests that primarily fund Democrats—have enormous influence. And the teachers’ unions always oppose proposals to expand educational freedom. As such, the expansion of school choice has happened almost exclusively in Republican-majority states.
There are a lot of families from across the political spectrum who live in “blue” states but would love to have school choice. I’ve talked to parents, private school leaders, and education advocates in Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, New York, and my home state of Pennsylvania who see a federal program as their only hope of having widespread school choice.
My answer is always the same: I understand and sympathize with your reasons, but I think getting the federal government involved is too risky. The federal government has no constitutional role in education. But that doesn’t necessarily sway people because much of what the feds do is beyond the Constitution.
Even if you’re able to put constitutional concerns aside, the threat of federal intrusion on private schools is significant and could ruin the innovative ecosystem that is developing today through state school choice programs, technology advancements, and homeschool rules that give parents the flexibility to customize their children’s learning paths. There are legitimate concerns about state regulations when school choice policies are enacted, but it’s easier to push back on state overreach than federal overreach. What is acceptable under a Trump administration could well be disallowed under future administrations.
The fear of government overreach isn’t unwarranted. The version the Senate passed earlier this week in the One Big Beautiful Bill stripped the prohibition against control over scholarship organizations and private schools. It’s unclear where that stands, as the House is currently debating the bill. It also says states can choose whether or not their residents can even participate in the program. This may be better from a federalism perspective, but it also means those in blue states are unlikely to have new access to school choice.
Educational freedom is already flourishing across America. As parents learn what is happening in other states, they’re likely to push their lawmakers to pass state programs. Eventually, even blue states will probably have to yield. The eve of Independence Day is not the time to risk the future of educational freedom.