Arizona Votes to Dramatically Expand School Voucher Program
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey recently signed into law a massive school voucher program that allows parents to use their tax-payer dollars to go towards the school of their choice.
According to the Washington Examiner:
“Under the provisions in the law, over a million Arizona students will be eligible for more than $6,000 annually in education scholarships that can be used to cover any sort of school-related expense, including private school tuition, school material expenses, and private tutoring.”
This is a big win for advocates of school choice. Taxpayer dollars can go towards students attending private schools, parochial schools, and even homeschooling. All of Arizona’s 1.1 million students will be eligible for the program.
Our schools have become more politicized than ever. Over the last few years, parents watched as their children’s classrooms welcomed radical COVID-19 policies, critical race theory, and gender theory. Parents who spoke out against this were labeled as extremists. Now, there’s a distrust in our public education system that may be larger than ever before. Parents should have the right to make whatever choices they want regarding their child’s education.
Our education system should follow the free-market principles of any other good or service. Consumers should be allowed to choose whatever product they want to spend their money on. The competitors, in response, will improve their product to make it more desirable. Competition creates better quality goods. Why should schools be any different?
U.S. News currently ranks Arizona as 46th in the nation for education. This change in the state’s education system may be exactly what it needs to help improve the success of students.
This new law is one of the most expansive school voucher programs in the country. It will be interesting to see how successful it is, and whether or not the rest of the country will follow suit.
