Thank You, NSEA, for this Handy Voting Guide

The Voice, October 2016, pp. 12-13

Here is yet another case of a teachers union misinforming educators about school choice options. This graphic appears in the October issue of The Voice, the NSEA's monthly publication for its union members. One of the columns says "Supports For Profit/Charter Schools," which is confusing and misleading.

Charter schools are public schools that are not tied to teachers unions and bureaucracies that limit their innovation and freedom. Because they're free from so much bureaucratic regulation, they tend to perform better than traditional public schools.

Nebraska's teachers unions fight vehemently against charter schools because their membership will decline if charter schools are legalized. They know this because teachers union membership has declined in many of the 43 states and Washington D.C. where charter schools exist. They also don't want to have to compete with charter schools, which disproportionately rank high in school rankings.

​Teachers unions claim to help their members, but by fighting against school choice, they limit the kinds of opportunities that teachers in other states enjoy. For instance, the Denver Schools of Science and Technology charter schools consistently rank as some of the best places to work in the city of Denver. 

Worst of all, the teachers union is limiting opportunity for Nebraska's students, especially students who are currently stuck in failing schools and have no other options. If charter schools were legal in Nebraska, parents could choose the best schools for their children and enjoy the kind of market competition they enjoy whenever they go out to eat or visit a doctor or shop for a car.

In time, parents in Nebraska will have more options to help them create individualized educations for their individual children. Until then, check out the options created by ed tech firms, universities, and organizations created by school choice in the rest of the country. See if you can find resources to help you do what's best for your kids, even though we currently live in a no-choice state.