As legislators in Nebraska examine and debate school choice legislation, one question that sometimes arises is whether or not school choice programs promote good citizenship and democratic values. Some school choice programs, like the Opportunity Scholarship program, would likely increase enrollment in private schools. Some people claim that private schools, especially those operated by religious groups, fail to instill values like tolerance and civic responsibility in their students. Studies show that this simply isn’t true.

Studies Show Private Schools Are Better at Instilling Civic Values 
Research shows that students who attend private schools are more tolerant of others, more likely to vote, and more likely to volunteer in their communities that students who attend public schools.

Patrick Wolf from the University of Arkansas reviewed all existing empirical studies that compare civic values in public and private schools. The most frequently studied topic was tolerance. Students were asked to identify their “most disliked” group of people. Then they were asked whether members of that group should be allowed to hold public rallies, have books in the library sympathetic to their ideas, etc. The results of these studies are very interesting. Most studies found that private schools have the advantage over public schools in teaching tolerance, volunteerism, political knowledge, political participation, and other civic values:

In Wolf’s publication, “Private Schooling and Political Tolerance,” he writes, “The data speak clearly here: Students with more private education are more politically tolerant, all else being equal.”

Common Misperceptions 
The Friedman Foundation explains, “Public schools . . . are perceived as institutions where children learn good civic values. Because public schools are government-run, many people assume they must be more devoted to teaching the values of the community.” For example, social theorist Benjamin R. Barber wrote, “Public schools are not merely schools for the public, but schools of publicness: institutions where we learn what it means to be a public and start down the road toward common national and civic identity. They are the forges of our citizenship and the bedrock of our democracy.” Studies are showing, however, that public schools are less effective at being “forges of our citizenship” than private schools.

Improved Teaching = Improved Communities 
Of course, most parents are less concerned about civic values than they are about core academics. As indicated by ACT scores, private schools in Lincoln, Nebraska, are more successful at teaching core academics than public schools. As stated by the Friedman Foundation, “research shows private schools are simply better at teaching students than public schools; the same qualities that make them better at teaching subjects like math also could make them better at teaching values like tolerance.”

With Opportunity Scholarships, more Nebraska students will have the opportunity to receive educations that will prepare them better in both math and tolerance. Our state can only benefit from such an improvement.

With National School Choice Week fast approaching, people in Lincoln and across the state of Nebraska are talking about school choice and how it could benefit kids, parents, and teachers in our local communities. The excitement is palpable, and the future seems brighter when students and families have more options to choose from.

There are certainly those who would like to limit choice, however. They are people with personal interests in the concentration of power and resources that comes with the traditional public school district structure. They try to convince us that we already have all the choices we need and that looking for other options is somehow selfish or misguided.

Kentucky is one of the other few states that does not have charter schools, and it's interesting to see that critics of school choice in Kentucky say the exact same thing as the critics in Nebraska.

In a piece for Kentucky's WFPL News, Jacob Ryan writes, "Hargens said one district strategy to fight charter school support is pushing the idea that Jefferson County parents already have a form of school choice, a key selling point of charters.

Hargens said Jefferson County Public Schools offer an array of magnet schools, and students also have access to private schools within Jefferson County."

This is uncannily familiar to the op-ed written by Lincoln Public Schools consultant Doug Evans, entitled, "Nebraska Has Had School Choice For Years." State Senator Adam Morfeld (who received contributions from the Nebraska State Education Association teachers union) posted Doug Evans' op-ed on his Facebook page and said:

"Nebraska has had school choice for years, it is called option enrollment. Another example of our strong Nebraska public schools giving parents and students options and high quality education. I will fight hard to preserve it!"

Morfeld's passionate commentary points to another unfounded claim by school choice opponents that is commonly brought out and paraded around by those who benefit from the public school district monopoly structure: school choice "drains" public schools.

When taxpayer money for education follows the students, no money is "lost." It all goes to education. What all the hand-wringing is about is that parents get to make the decisions, not those who currently hold all the power. Again, there is no loss of money with school choice. The loss feared by school choice opponents is a loss of power over of the money. Adam Morfeld might not receive as many campaign contributions from the teachers union if the union doesn't have as much control over teacher's paychecks. Doug Evans might not be hired on as a PR consultant if LPS has to compete with other public schools that use their money more wisely. When they have to compete, they'll use their money to improve educational outcomes instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing to convince the public that they don't really want choice.

Come to the National School Choice Week celebration at the Capitol on the 28th. It's time to cut through the false messages and bring hope to the thousands of Nebraska students who need other options in order to thrive educationally. See you there!

We celebrate parents' and guardians' rights to choose public school, private school, home school, or any combination of these options to help each child reach his or her academic potential.

Join us at the National School Choice Week celebration at the Nebraska Capitol.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

10:00am

North Steps of the Nebraska State Capitol

RSVP Here

For more information, email tolmanterry@gmail.com.