School choice makes progress under Trump

"The only way to 'fix' American education is to restore control to local communities, school boards, and — most of all — parents."

Progress in the Fight for Educational Freedom | Ron Paul Institute | Ron Paul:

December 1, 2025 - "'The government shutdown 'proved an argument that conservatives have been making for 45 years: The U.S. Department of Education is mostly a pass-through for funds that are best managed by the states.' 

"The most significant thing about this statement in a November 16 USA Today editorial is not its substance. As the editorial’s author points out, the argument presented is not new. 

The most significant thing about the statement is that its author is Education Secretary Linda McMahon. 

"Unlike many in DC, Secretary McMahon backs up her words with action. She is dismantling the Department of Education, fulfilling one of President Trump’s campaign promises. Since President Trump and Secretary McMahon cannot close the department absent authorizing legislation — legislation that appears unlikely to pass in the current Congress — Secretary McMahon is gutting the department by transferring responsibility for most of its functions to other parts of the government. 

"Secretary McMahon has moved to the Labor Department the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, which administers 27 K-12 grant programs, and the office of Postsecondary Education, which administers 14 programs aimed at helping college students, as well as several other programs. The Interior Department will manage the Indian education program, while the State Department will manage the federal foreign language education program. The Department of Education will, for the time being, ensure schools are complying with federal civil rights laws.

"Spreading education programs among several different departments may reduce spending. For example, it could spur Congress to stop wasting millions of dollars a year on public relations for the Education Department. However, it does not necessarily reduce federal involvement in education. Therefore, those of us committed to restoring control over education to local communities must continue to advocate for eliminating all federal education programs. The billions spent by the federal government on “improving” education have had the opposite effect. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 72 percent of American eighth graders are below proficient in math and 70 percent are below proficient in reading.

"America’s education system cannot be fixed by another No Child Left Behind style reform imposed on local schools by federal politicians and bureaucrats. Instead, the only way to 'fix' American education is to restore control to local communities, school boards, and — most of all — parents.

"This is why all who care about quality education should celebrate the continued growth of homeschooling. According to Angela R. Watson of the Institute for Education Policy at Johns Hopkins University, homeschooling in the 2024-25 school year “continued to grow across the United States, increasing at an average rate of 5.4 percent.”

"Parents looking for a homeschooling curriculum incorporating the ideas of liberty should consider my online curriculum. My curriculum provides students with a solid education in history, literature, mathematics, and the sciences. It also gives students the opportunity to create their own websites and internet-based businesses. This provides students with 'real world' entrepreneurial experience that will be useful no matter what career paths they choose. The curriculum is designed to be self-taught, with students helping, and learning from, each other via online forums. Starting in the fourth grade, students are required to write at least one essay a week. Students also take a course in public speaking.

"The curriculum emphasizes the history, philosophy, and economics of liberty, but it never substitutes indoctrination for education. The goal is to produce students with superior critical thinking skills. If you think my curriculum may meet the needs of your child, please visit www.RonPaulCurriculum.com for more information."

Copyright © 2025 The Ron Paul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

https://ronpaulinstitute.org/progress-in-the-fight-for-educational-freedom/

Ontario independent schools up >50% since 2013

The number of independent schools in Ontario has grown by more than 50% in the last 10 years, despite the absence of tax funding. 

Number of independent schools in Ontario grew by 52% since 2013 | Western Standard - Jonathan Bradley:

Nov 23, 2022 - "Ontario is seeing explosive growth in independent schools, according to a report done by the Cardus Institute. 

"'Unlike Quebec and every Western province, Ontario offers zero taxpayer funding for independent schools, yet many parents value them enough to pay for tuition over and above the taxes they contribute towards district schools,' said Cardus Education Director and report co-author David Hunt in a Tuesday press release. 'Ontario’s Ministry of Education, political leaders, researchers, the media, and the public should seek to understand why our neighbours, friends, and family members are making these choices'....

"The report said there are at least 1,445 independent schools in Ontario — up by almost 52% since 2013-2014. Enrolment increased by 29,531 students from 2013-2014 to 2019-2020, the most growth of any Canadian province. The schools educated more than 154,000 students in Ontario as of 2019-2020. 

"The report went on to say two-fifths of independent schools have a specialization, such as special education or Montessori. It added 4% of the schools are elite institutions. Three-quarters of elite schools are in the Greater Toronto Area. Less than two-fifths of them are religiously based. 

"The report continued by saying one-quarter of independent schools are Jewish or Muslim. It said 64% of independent schools are in the suburbs, while 28% are in rural or semi-rural areas.... 

"Hunt said there is 'extraordinary diversity among Ontario’s independent schools.' 'Each school serves unique and specific student needs that district schools either don’t or can’t meet,' he said." 

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/number-of-independent-schools-in-ontario-grew-by-52-since-2013/article_585d95cc-6b5b-11ed-993f-475db8c6e44f.html

The Value of Independent Schools | Independent Schools Queensland, April 27, 2021:

OP-ED: Ford government should increase school choice in Ontario | True North - Michael Zwaagstra -

May 6, 2023 - "The Ontario government wants to promote diversity. That’s why it’s made 'equity' and 'inclusion' a key focus in K-12 schools. However, if Ontario wants to actually promote diversity in education, it should help increase school choice and expand the educational options available to parents.

"Unlike Quebec and the four Western provinces, Ontario does not fund independent schools, which means parents who wish to enroll their children in a non-government school must pay the full cost of tuition (along with their regular taxes that pay for the public school system). In essence, they pay twice for their children’s education.

"This might not be a problem for wealthier families who can easily afford high tuition fees, but it’s not so simple for middle- and lower-income families. As a result, only 6.9% of Ontario students attend independent schools compared to 13.2% in British Columbia and 11.7% in Quebec. The partial funding of independent schools by these provinces makes this option more affordable for many parents.

"Importantly, when provinces fund independent schools, they do so based on enrollment. Thus, it’s more accurate to say that money follows the student because independent schools only receive funds if parents choose to send their children there. Clearly, independent schools meet an important need for many families and should remain available as an option.

"Another positive reform would be to follow Alberta’s lead and allow the creation of charter schools. Contrary to what many people assume, charter schools are not independent schools but are rather autonomous, not-for-profit schools within the public system. And they’re non-sectarian, cannot charge tuition, and must be open to all students. Charter schools have proven to be quite successful in Alberta. Some charter schools, such as Foundations for the Future Charter Academy in Calgary, provide a traditional back-to-basics approach, while others, such as Boyle Street Education Centre in Edmonton, focus on alternative programs targeting at-risk youth. With the recent decision by the Alberta government to lift the cap on charter schools, the number of these schools—and the number of students enrolled in them—will continue to grow in that province."

Read more: https://tnc.news/2023/05/06/zwaagstra-ford-school-choice/

SCOTUS gets school funding decision right

Overlooked in the controversy over their overturning of Roe v. Wade was another SCOTUS decision that will also have a great impact on children in the future.

The Death of Separationism and the Life of School Choice | Law & Liberty - John O. McGinnis:

June 23, 2022 - "In a Supreme Court term of many consequential decisions, Carson v. Makin stands out for its likely enduring legal and political effects. In Carson, which was handed down on Tuesday, the Court held that Maine could not prevent parents from using its tuition assistance for rural residents at sectarian religious schools. As Chief Justice Roberts said, a 'State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.'

"The case is the culmination of a series of rulings in which the Roberts Court has held unconstitutional any condition that withholds generally available state aid from religious institutions. Previous cases had prevented aid from being withheld on the basis of the religious identity of the institution. This case extends that principle to prevent it from being withheld on the basis of the religious use to which the institution puts the tuition assistance — in this case to a school that includes religiously based instruction. The Free Exercise Clause requires neutrality between religious and nonreligious institutions and uses to which citizens can put their government-provided assistance.

"The doctrine of unconstitutional conditions is familiar across the breadth of constitutional law. A state, for instance, could not prevent citizens from using generally available tuition assistance for private schools on the basis of what a teacher said about the American Revolution, because that would be an unconstitutional condition on free speech. Carson makes clear that the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions is as applicable to Free Exercise as to other constitutional rights.  

"The broader significance of Carson v. Makin is that the Court has made it clear that the Free Exercise Clause will be treated like other rights and will not be limited by the nonoriginalist principle of Separation of Church and State.  The case ... spends little time quoting sources from the founding on the meaning of either the Free Exercise or Establishment Clause. It is nevertheless informed by the movement toward originalism, because what has historically distinguished the treatment of the Free Exercise Clause from other rights is a nonoriginalist view of the Establishment Clause, namely that it incorporates a broad and wooly principle of Separation of Church and State. And that view was itself sometimes supported by a faulty originalism, relying on a few snippets from founding era materials, like Thomas Jefferson’s 'wall of separation' comment in his reply to a letter from the Baptist Church in Danbury, Connecticut.  

"If the Constitution had indeed established a principle of complete separation, it is plausible that a state would have a compelling or at least substantial interest in preventing parents from using generally available aid at a religious school. Separationism would suggest that religious institutions and the state must have no connection. Separationism also animates the notion there must at least be some 'play in the joints' between the two Clauses, meaning that a state’s concern about the Establishment Clause could justify restrictions on the scope of Free Exercise rights.... But the Carson majority notably does not deploy the phrase, 'play in the joints.' The dissents by Justice Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor rely on that phrase a total of nine times between them. The dissents also expressly relied on separationism, while the majority dismissed any separationist concern. Thus, the meaning of the Establishment Clause is what ultimately divides the Court....

"Scholarship debunking the separation of church and state as the original principle lurking behind the Establishment Clause has been crucial to recent developments in the religion clauses, because it provides the background for Carson’s doctrinal moves. In particular, Philip Hamburger’s magisterial Separation of Church and State shows that there was very little opinion at the time of Framing that attached anything like this principle to the Establishment Clause. The use of the term by Thomas Jefferson (not of course a Framer) was extremely unusual. Instead, according to Hamburger, what animated the Establishment Clause was the concern of religious dissenters that they not suffer discrimination and that the state, as Hamburger puts it, not take 'cognizance' of religion by creating religious tests and putting other religiously infused requirements into law. Measured against this understanding of the meaning of 'establishment' and its dangers, Carson’s insistence that religious schools not be discriminated against in generally available programs is completely consistent with the Establishment Clause’s strictures. A program that is non-preferential between secular and any religious education hardly establishes a religion.... 

"Carson is not only important for what it does for Establishment Clause jurisprudence but what it does for the school choice movement. That movement already has political momentum. First, many public schools have been heavily criticized for closing for too long during the pandemic with substantial losses of learning, particularly for the poorest students. Second, many parents are furious with what their public schools are teaching, viewing commonly used history curricula in particular as tendentious and unpatriotic. Many also worry about an emphasis on equity over excellence. As a result, a parental rights movement is emerging as a powerful electoral force.

"School choice is the logical institutional manifestation of parental rights. A parent who can choose the school his or her child attends has more influence on the child’s education. At a traditional public school, a parent can only vote in a school board election, and once the school board is elected, he or she retains no substantial leverage at all. School choice provides the invaluable right of exit. Carson assures those who want to send their children to religious schools that religious choices can never be excluded from a choice program. Thus, it energizes parents who want a religious alternative to the traditional public school to join with parents who want alternatives for secular reasons. The ruling thus contributes even more energy to one of our most important contemporary social movements."

Read more: https://lawliberty.org/the-death-of-separationism-and-the-life-of-school-choice/

Homeschooling percentage has doubled in U.S.

California Parents Contributing to the Homeschool Boom | California Globe - Katy Grimes:

September 21, 2021 - "California is experiencing a homeschool boom, and it’s not just a result of school lockdowns during the COVID pandemic. The pandemic may have been the first time parents really and thoroughly saw what their kids were being taught in California public schools. And many were shocked.

"Lance Izumi, senior director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute recently finished writing his latest book, The Homeschool Boom, which looks at the increase in homeschooling across the United States, and in California. Izumi says at the start of the pandemic, in spring 2020, just over 5 percent of American households reported homeschooling school-aged children, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By the fall of 2020 – only 6 months later – that percentage had more than doubled to 11 percent. 

"Izumi notes that the Census Bureau used clarifying information on the survey to ensure that households were reporting true homeschooling and not distance or remote learning through a public or private school. The percentage of homeschooling households in Florida went from 5 percent to 18 percent, while New York went from 1 percent to 10 percent...

Graph courtesy California Globe

"'Between the 2020 and 2021 school years, tens of thousands of students have left the regular public schools,' Izumi said. 'The latest total shows that 160,000 students have left the public schools here in California. Where have these students gone? Many are now being homeschooled. In Los Angeles, the number of parents filing private school affidavits, which parents must file with the state in order to homeschool their children independently, more than doubled.”

"Izumi says the increase in the numbers of minority parents who have decided to homeschool their children is noteworthy. 'Among African Americans nationwide, the percentage homeschooling families skyrocketed from 3 percent to an amazing 16 percent — a five-fold increase from spring 2020 to fall 2020. Among Hispanics, the proportion of families who are homeschooling their children doubled from 6 percent to 12 percent'....

"Izumi said he believes that the next big wave in education will be homeschooling. His prediction is bolstered by the Census Bureau, which concluded that families are seeking solutions that will reliably meet their health and safety needs, their childcare needs, and the learning and socio-emotional needs of their children. 'Further, the Bureau said that from pandemic pods to standalone virtual schools to homeschooling organizations, parents are increasingly open to options beyond the neighborhood school,' Izumi said. 'So the pandemic and the ineffectiveness of the regular public schools to teach students during the pandemic have led to a real revolution in how parents are viewing how best to ensure the learning of their children.'

"'Before the pandemic, federal survey data found the most cited reason given by parents for homeschooling their children is concern about the environment of schools,' Izumi explained. 'These concerns include safety, drugs, and negative peer pressure. The second most cited reason is dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at schools. The academic research on homeschooling shows that homeschooled students perform better, on average, than non-homeschooled children.'"

Read more: https://californiaglobe.com/articles/california-parents-contributing-to-the-homeschool-boom/

Closing private schools was unconstitutional, U.S. appeals court rules

California’s school closure rules violated private school families’ rights, appeals court rules | Los Angeles Times - Kristen Taketa: 

July 23, 2021 - "An appeals court Friday ruled that state leaders violated the rights of parents by forcing private schools to stay closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.... The appeals court ruling is the latest development in the lawsuit Brach vs. Newsom, which was filed against Gov. Gavin Newsom last July by California public school and private school families.... 

"A national conservative group called the Center for American Liberty led the lawsuit effort. The lawsuit challenged the state’s rules preventing K-12 schools from offering in-person instruction in counties with high coronavirus case rates. The plaintiff families argued that the rules deprived their children of a meaningful education and violated their due process rights and equal protections under the 14th Amendment. While K-12 schools had to remain closed in counties with high coronavirus case rates, other educational facilities could remain open, including child-care programs and K-12 schools in low-COVID counties. The plaintiffs argued that the state’s rules were therefore arbitrary and treated people unequally. In San Diego County, some school districts reopened as early as last fall and remained open throughout the pandemic, while others had to wait until spring to reopen because of state restrictions....

"In December, a district court dismissed all the plaintiffs’ due process claims for public and private school families. The district court said the 14th Amendment’s due process clause does not recognize a fundamental right to basic education, and the plaintiffs had failed to explain how distance learning constituted a wholesale denial of a basic education. The appeals court reversed that lower court’s decision pertaining to private schools and remanded the matter back to the lower court.

"'California’s forced closure of their private schools implicates a right that has long been considered fundamental under the applicable caselaw — the right of parents to control their children’s education and to choose their children’s educational forum,' wrote Judge Daniel Collins in the appeal court’s opinion Friday.... The court also said the state was justified in having different closure rules for public schools, child care centers and other facilities....

"Harmeet Dhillon, chief executive of the Center for American Liberty, called the appeal court ruling 'a huge victory for parents’ rights.' 'The Ninth Circuit rightly ruled in parents’ favor, affirming that they — and not Gavin Newsom or faceless bureaucrats — have the right to decide how best to educate their children,' she said in a statement. But Dhillon said she is disappointed that the appellate court ruled only in favor of private school families, not public school families.

"'While we are thrilled for our clients whose rights are vindicated by today’s decision, we are disappointed the Ninth Circuit did not rule that all students, including those in public school, have a basic right to an education. We will continue to advocate for the educational rights of all students,' Dhillon said."

Read more: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2021-07-23/appeal-court-rules-in-favor-of-private-school-families

Read court decision: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/07/23/20-56291.pdf

More Americans opting out of school system

Kindergartners Abandoning Public School in Fall 2021, Too | Reason - Matt Welch:

April 9, 2021 - "'We're proud to show the nation what is possible in terms of safely educating our one million students,' New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter tweeted Wednesday.... Porter may need to refresh her math. The nation's largest school district announced Thursday that kindergarten applications for fall 2021 were down a whopping 12 percent over last year, after having dropped 9 percent the year before.... [I]t's clear that the pandemic enrollment hit — which this school year cut overall K-12 participation down 4 percent, to 960,000 — will not be a one-year phenomenon. Early learners are abandoning public schools, and not just in New York....

"We already knew that the 2020–21 year was a wipeout for public school kindergarten enrollment nationwide—down 16 percent, according to an NPR survey of 100 districts last October. Hard numbers are devilishly hard to pin down, varying from state to state (as do kindergarten attendance requirements), but the rough estimate is that about one-third of overall K-12 decline this year (which itself has been estimated at between 2 percent and 5 percent) is attributable to kindergarten alone.

"Where have all the 5-year-olds gone? Not Catholic schools, which despite being much more likely to be open five days a week saw their biggest single-year drop (6.4 percent) in a half-century, concentrated most heavily at the pre-K and kindergarten levels. Overall private school numbers, however, appear to be slightly higher.

"About the only unambiguous growth categories in the entire field of minor education are learning 'pods' (ad hoc groups of parents pooling their efforts either full or part time, to fill in the gaps left by school closures), and homeschooling. That latter category is absolutely exploding — up from 3.3 percent before the pandemic, to 5.4 percent in the spring of 2020, to 11.1 percent last fall, according to the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey, which takes care to distinguish between genuine D.I.Y. education and remote-learning hell.

"The tantalizing question raised by New York City's fall application numbers against the backdrop of the homeschooling spike is: Has the pandemic fundamentally altered the public's appetite for public education? Bruno V. Manno, senior adviser for the Walton Family Foundation's K-12 Education Program, thinks so.

"'The result of the Covid-19 shock dynamic in K-12 is a more pluralistic education system, one that's being redefined to include more options from more providers for more families and students,' Manno wrote for Education Next last month. 'Some significant number of parents and students will return to some version of the "old normal." But some won't. Some have exited, permanently. So the long-term effect is a question of magnitude.'

"The shift is already having a direct impact on per-student-based school budgets and staffing, even as the Biden administration hurriedly shovels the better half of $200 billion in federal bailout money out the door. Gilbert Public Schools in Arizona laid off 152 employees last month. Hillsborough County, Florida, the country's eighth largest school district, will soon ax 1,000 more employees after already losing 2,000 during the pandemic.... [E]ven with the record levels of federal funding, the basic math of K-12 funding is that with declining enrollment comes a declining number of jobs....

"After 13 months of the pandemic, public school K-12 enrollment is down all over the country, private school enrollment is flat or slightly up, and homeschooling has shot through the roof. This spring is the first time millions of parents will have truly been able to make a premeditated, non-panicky decision about the best schooling options for their kids. If such deliberation continues to produce measurable exit from government-run institutions, the basic structure of American education will change in profound ways."

Read more: https://reason.com/2021/04/09/kindergartners-abandoning-public-school-in-fall-2021-too/

Montana school choice fight goes to SCOTUS

Constitutional showdown: Montana school choice case heads to U.S. Supreme Court | News | bozemandailychronicle.com - Gail Schontzler:

January 19, 2020 - "The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit brought on behalf of Kendra Espinoza and two other Kalispell-area mothers whose children attend Stillwater Christian School. Their lawsuit against the Montana Department of Revenue concerns a school choice program that ... provided $3 million a year to be spent on tax credits for individuals and business taxpayers who donated up to $150 to a new scholarship program for private school students.

"The Montana Supreme Court ruled the program violated the state’s constitution, which bars spending any public money directly or indirectly to support religious schools [and] struck down the entire scholarship program, a decision now being challenged in the nation’s highest court.

"The scholarship program is small, helping about 40 or 50 students a year — 94% of whom attend Christian schools, according to court filings. But the potential impact of the Espinoza case is huge. The Institute for Justice, the nonprofit legal advocacy group that has represented the Kalispell mothers from the start of their lawsuit, called it 'one of the most important education reform cases in the past half century'....

"The Institute for Justice — which has received funding from billionaires Charles and David Koch and the Walton and DeVos families — argues this case could stop Montana’s discrimination against religious options, uphold the free exercise of religion and expand school choice.  Opponents, including the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions and liberal groups, argue the Espinoza case threatens public schools and the basic principle of separation of church and state..... Thirty-seven states have constitutional language similar to Montana’s barring aid to religious schools....

"The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling this summer.... Supreme Court rulings in recent years have moved in the direction of allowing public funds to benefit religious schools. In 2017 the court ruled in the Trinity Lutheran Church case that the state of Missouri violated the First Amendment when it excluded churches from a state program to make playgrounds safer because of the state constitution’s strict separation of church and state..... Chief Justice John Roberts ... added, however, that this decision does 'not address religious uses of funding or other forms of discrimination.'"

Read more: https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/constitutional-showdown-montana-school-choice-case-heads-to-u-s/article_e75727cf-8e45-5adc-981e-ab5435d353ec.html
'via Blog this'

John Stossel teaches kids about free market (video)

Stossel: Exposing Students to Free Markets - Reason.com - John Stossel and Tanvir Toy:

January 22, 2019 - "It's school choice week. Many kids don't have choice in where they go to school. The school choice movement is trying to give them that opportunity. Of course, having choice when it comes to what kids learn is important too.

"Many schools teach kids that capitalism hurts people. So John Stossel started a charity called Stossel in the Classroom. It offers teachers free videos that introduce kids to free market ideas. Students rarely hear about these ideas in school.

Graduates from Queens Technical High School in New York City ... watched the videos while they were in high school.... 'They really opened up my mind to think differently' said Xiomara Inga. Antonio Parada added the videos 'changed the way that I viewed the world.' Gabriel Miller ... explains, 'We are taught that this country is horrible.' But after watching the videos, 'I felt ashamed for what I initially believed … [so] I wanted to give back.'

"Diony Perez was inspired to open his own business.... Johann Astudillo learned about unintended consequences from a video about minimum wage.... Victoria Guerrero learned that most rich people get rich by providing some benefit to society.... Stossel says he is glad his charity helps students understand free market ideas."

Read more: https://reason.com/reasontv/2019/01/22/stossel-exposing-students-to-free-market?utm_medium=email
'via Blog this'

Also read: Izzit.org promotes free society with free videos

DeVos confirmed as U.S. Education Secretary

Statement on Confirmation of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education | Cato @ Liberty - Neal McCluskey:

February 7, 2017 - "It is gratifying to see Betsy DeVos confirmed as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. This is not because the federal government should attempt to push school choice — it should not, except in the District of Columbia and for families connected to the military — but because the opposition to now-Secretary DeVos was so unfair to her, and to the research on educational freedom.

"The reality is that research indicates charter schooling works in Michigan, DeVos’s home state, and specifically in Detroit. It shows that families of students with disabilities, rather than somehow being victimized by school choice, are empowered and immensely satisfied with it. And logic and evidence show that private school choice, rather than imposing ideas on people, frees them to get what they want for their children without forcing it on others.

"It is also gratifying to see DeVos approved because she stated repeatedly in her confirmation hearing that education decisions should be left to state and local governments. Constitutionally, that has things absolutely right: the Constitution gives Washington no authority to govern or 'oversee' American education, as Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) put it, which means such rights remain with the states, or with the people. And 50-plus years of increasingly intrusive federal meddling in education, with ultimately no visible academic improvement to show for it, brilliantly illustrates the wisdom of that decision.

"Now let us hope that the Trump administration sticks to the constitutionally-constrained federal role — even on school choice — that Secretary DeVos has repeatedly endorsed. "

https://www.cato.org/blog/statement-confirmation-betsy-devos-us-secretary-education
'via Blog this'

This work by Cato Institute is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

NC libertarian builds low-cost private schools

A Libertarian Builds Low-Cost Private Schools for the Masses - Reason.com - Jim Epstein:

January 23, 2017 - "Bob Luddy ... built his own network of low-cost private schools that the government can't meddle with.... A libertarian businessman based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Luddy made his fortune as the owner of the nation's leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems. CaptiveAire has factories in six states, and its 2016 revenues were $400 million....

"Luddy became interested in education when he observed that many hires at CaptiveAire lacked the basic math and science skills to thrive on the job. He volunteered to co-chair a statewide education commission and met with North Carolina officials to voice his concerns. 'They were happy to discuss all of these ideas,' Luddy says, 'but they weren't going to implement any of them.'

"The last straw for Luddy came in 1997, when he ran for a seat on the local school board and lost.... Almost immediately, he filed a charter for Franklin Academy, which today is the third largest charter school in North Carolina, with about four applicants vying for every kindergarten spot.... In 2007, he decided to take a more radical step by creating a non-profit network of schools called Thales Academy....

"Tuition is $5,300 for elementary school, and $6,000 for junior high and high school.... It takes advantage of North Carolina's tax-exempt financing for school construction, and Luddy himself makes a one-time contribution to help defray capital costs with each new facility. Luddy also provides about 6 percent of the student body with financial aid that covers up to half the cost of tuition, and 34 students (1.5 percent) receive financial aid through North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship Program.

"So how does Thales get by with so little revenue? (North Carolina's public schools spent about $9,300 per pupil in the 2015-2016 school year.) One factor is that it doesn't serve kids with severe learning disabilities.... Luddy believes those students are best served through North Carolina's school voucher program....

"Thales schools also have no auditoriums because they're too expensive to build, heat, and cool.... There's no cafeteria, and thus no cafeteria staff. There are no school buses, and thus no school bus drivers. There's also hardly any support staff, and fewer actual teachers. Thales targets a teacher to student ratio of about 26 to one.... Most schools boast about small class sizes, but Luddy is proud of having large classes because it demonstrates efficiency.... It's part of a pedagogical approach called 'direct instruction,' which Luddy believes provides a superior education in a more efficient manner....

"As Thales enters its tenth year of operation, Luddy and his team have grand ambitions. There are currently 25 new Thales schools in the planning stages that would extend the network's reach into Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida."

Read more: http://reason.com/reasontv/2017/01/23/thales-academy-north-carolina-bob-luddy
'via Blog this'

NY Times misrepresents school choice outcomes

The New York Times Continues to Mislead About School Choice in Michigan | Cato @ Liberty - Jason Bedrick:

January 10, 2017 - "In its quest to build a false narrative about Betsy DeVos, nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, the New York Times has continuously misled readers about the effects of charter schools in Detroit. The latest example comes from today’s editorial: '[DeVos] has also argued for shutting down Detroit public schools, with the system turned over to charters or taxpayer money given out as vouchers for private schools. In that city, charter schools often perform no better than traditional schools, and sometimes worse.'

"The NYT editors based their claim on a (faulty) Times op-ed from November in which Douglas Harris made the following claim: 'As one of the architects of Detroit’s charter school system, [DeVos] is partly responsible for what even charter advocates acknowledge is the biggest school reform disaster in the country. […] One well-regarded study found that Detroit’s charter schools performed at about the same dismal level as its traditional public schools'....

"Back in July, I highlighted the same report’s findings to dispel a similarly misleading description in the NYT: 'As shown [on] page 44 of the CREDO report, nearly half of Detroit’s charter schools outperformed the city’s traditional district schools in reading [46%] and math [48%] scores, while only one percent of charter schools performed worse in reading and only seven percent performed worse in math.'

"To claim, as the NYT does, that Detroit 'charter schools often perform no better than traditional schools, and sometimes worse' based on these figures is a highly distorted way of presenting the data. It’s equally true to say 'Detroit charter schools almost always perform as well [as] or better than traditional schools'....

"As [Ranesh] Ponnuru notes, the 2012 CREDO study concluded:

Based on the findings presented here, the typical student in Michigan charter schools gains more learning in a year than his [traditional public school (TPS)] counterparts, amounting to about two months of additional gains in reading and math. These positive patterns are even more pronounced in Detroit, where historically student academic performance has been poor. These outcomes are consistent with the result that charter schools have significantly better results than TPS for minority students who are in poverty.....

"Harris responded by shifting the goalposts by expressing skepticism of the very CREDO study he had previously described as 'well-regarded' when citing it in support of his view, claiming that the positive 'CREDO results may reflect cherry-picking” among other reasons why we shouldn’t take these results 'literally.' For the record, I am not entirely persuaded that the matching efforts in the CREDO study were well done, but one cannot cite a study in support of one’s view only to dismiss it when it is pointed out that the study’s conclusion contradicts that view."

Read more: https://www.cato.org/blog/new-york-times-continues-mislead-about-school-choice-michigan
'via Blog this'

Interest growing in National School Choice Week

As interest in school choice grows, so does National School Choice Week - Watchdog.org - Josh Kaib:

"2016 is shaping up to be the best year yet for National School Choice Week. The annual January event, which began in 2011, will feature 16,140 events, up from roughly 11,000 last year. The festivities officially kick off across the country on Sunday and run through January 30.

"Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week, says the exponential growth tracks with the increased interest in school choice.

 "'From 150 events in 2011 to 16,140 events in 2016, the growth in enthusiasm surrounding National School Choice Week demonstrates that Americans in communities across the country recognize, more than ever before, the importance of ensuring that all children have the opportunity to learn and to pursue their own American dreams,' Campanella said in a statement.

"The events — which are independently planned by schools and participating organizations — aim to increase the public’s awareness of education options, including traditional district schools, public charter and magnet schools, online education, private schools and homeschooling.

"'National School Choice Week provides an opportunity to start tens of thousands of conversations across our country about the benefits of choice and opportunity in K-12 education,' Campanella said. 'We encourage everyone to get involved, to celebrate, and to have their voices heard during the week.'

"Though NSCW has spread quickly across the country, some areas are slower to adopt school choice policies. Charter school laws differ widely from state to state, and 27 so far offer private school choice initiatives including scholarships, vouchers, and education savings accounts. Scholarships are typically funded through tax-deductible donations from businesses and individuals, whereas vouchers and ESAs enable parents to decide where the public education funding set aside for their child should go....

"Last year, Nevada became the first state to enact a universal ESA. It would enable virtually every public school student in the state to attend the private school of their choice by giving them a significant portion of the money that would have been spent educating them at a public school.

"But earlier this month, a state judge issued an injunction against the program. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who signed the program into law, is asking the Nevada Supreme Court for an expedited ruling on the program’s constitutionality."

Read more: http://watchdog.org/254631/national-school-choice-week-growing/
'via Blog this'

Free State Project over 90% of way to 20K goal

Libertarian group Free State Project says it is nearing its goal to move to NH with 20,000 people | New Hampshire - Meghan Pierce, Union Leader:

January 3, 2016 - "New Year's morning the Free State Project announced it has reached 92 percent of its goal of signing up 20,000 people to move to the Granite State.... As of Friday, 18,406 people have pledged to move to New Hampshire within five years of the project reaching its goal of 20,000 signatures.... This new number of signers also reflects a jump of two percent over the past few weeks.

"'We attribute that most of this growth is coming from targeted Facebook advertising,' Carla Gericke, Free State Project president, said Friday. 'We're pushing a lot more money into this and we're hoping to trigger the move in the next few months.'

"The Free State Project was inspired by a 2001 essay written by Jason Sorens, a Yale graduate student at the time. He theorized in the essay that if 20,000 committed activists moved to a single state with a small enough population, they could successfully shape policy and culture to create a more free and open, Libertarian society....  [M]ore than 10 percent have already moved to New Hampshire and these 2,000 plus 'early movers' have already had an impact....

"Early movers have participated in civil disobedience in Keene, where liberty activists calling themselves Robin Hooders fill expired parking meters just ahead of parking enforcement officers. As well as in Portsmouth, where liberty activists led Free Uber, a group battling city officials over the legality of being an Uber driver operating in the city....

"Early mover and Croydon School Board Chairman Jody Underwood has lead the fight for school choice in her town, maintaining that state law doesn't prohibit school districts from paying tuition to private schools, especially when it is in the best interest of the student.

"Many have also served in state government, including single mom and state representative for Manchester's Ward 5, Amanda Bouldin....

"Like many Free Staters, Bouldin believes community, not government, should care for those in need. So five years ago she started Shire Sharing, which, according to its website, is a “collaborative effort among liberty activists to address social ills through voluntary action and private charity.... This past November the charity delivered Thanksgiving meals to more than 600 households across the state....

"Some people have disparaged the Free State Project for not yet reaching its goal after more than a decade, Gericke said, but that has actually worked out for the best....

"There is already a community of Free Staters who support the newcomers in various ways — showing up to help them move in, holding 'orphan Thanksgivings,' and recommending local doctors or auto shops, she said....

"To fund the Facebook campaign ... go to www.facebook.com/FreeStateProject.org, It has already raised more than $8,000 toward a $40,000 goal."

Read more: http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20160103/NEWS06/160109902
'via Blog this'

Super PAC spends $7 Million in Philadelphia primary

3 Libertarians Fuel $7 Million Super PAC In Philadelphia's Mayoral Democratic Primary - Paul Blumenthal, Huffington Post:

May 14, 2015 - "Voters will cast ballots in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia's mayoral race on May 19, but three libertarian donors from the suburbs could really influence the contest.

"According to city campaign finance records, Arthur Dantchik, Joel Greenberg and Jeff Yass – heads of the trading firm Susquehanna International Group – have pumped almost $7 million into the American Cities super PAC, which backs state Sen. Anthony H. Williams (D). The total contributed by the three financial executives through May 4, the cutoff for the latest reports, not only dwarfs the amount spent by each candidate in the race, but also is nearly equal to all candidate and other super PAC fundraising combined.

"The contributions come amid a continued uptick in large campaign donations from financial investors to city, state and municipal elections sent through super PACs in recent years. The funds are largely given in support of market-based education reforms including the privatization of public schools, the diversion of public school funds to charter schools and the breaking of teachers unions....

"In the state Senate, Williams was the architect of an expansion of the state tax credit diverting public funds to charter schools by allowing corporations and wealthy individuals to be refunded with public money when they pay for a scholarship, or 'voucher,' for a public school student to attend a charter school. He also served on the education commission created by former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, a proponent of charter schools and vouchers.

"Williams is not a new commodity for the investors based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Dantchik, Greenberg and Yass spent at least $6 million through their Students First PA PAC to support Williams' bid for the Democratic Party's gubernatorial nomination in 2010."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/14/philadelphia-mayor-super-pac_n_7268872.html
'via Blog this'

Grover Norquist on the 30-year libertarian trend

Grover Norquist on the Libertarian Trend | C-Notes | OZY - Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform:

September 23, 2014 - "They’re no longer on the fringes. The libertarians are now officially mainstream.... But it’s much more than a moment. It’s the culmination of a powerful narrative building over the past 30 years in American politics. This is a movement — and it doesn’t live or die on the shoulders of one policy or one individual....

"So forget 'moment.' Think trend. And consider the once-impossible political shifts that have taken place over the past 30 years. The relevant dividing line is not right versus left or Republican versus Democrat but the expansion of individual liberty versus whatever and whosoever stands in the way....

"Thirty years ago home schooling was illegal in all 50 states. Parents were (and occasionally still are) actually hauled off to jail for violating 'compulsory attendance' laws. Today, home schooling is legal and lightly regulated in all 50 states, 2 million students are being home-schooled and 10 million Americans have been home-schooled for some part of their K-12 education....

"Thirty years ago there were laws actually criminalizing gays. Gay Americans often lived in fear of legal and social opprobrium. The closet was real because it was safer. State by state, city by city, “blue laws” were repealed or struck down by courts. The culture and our laws opened up. Once unthinkable, now gay marriage appears inevitable. Attitudes toward gay Americans have shifted dramatically.....

"Thirty years ago, 80 percent of Americans supported stricter gun control laws. Certain guns were banned. Organizations formed and expected they would soon 'ban handguns' in private hands.... Today, 41 states have enacted [concealed carry] laws. In 2007 there were 4.5 million such permits. Today there are more than 11.1 million. Arizona, Vermont, Wyoming and Alaska do not even require permits to carry for their citizens. Five percent of the adult population has a concealed carry permit. One in 20. This drive has been fueled and validated by the fact that violent crime falls faster in states with concealed carry laws....

"Thirty years ago, marijuana was illegal as medicine or even as a 'recreational use' drug in 50 states. Today, 21 states allow the use of medical marijuana, and Colorado and Washington state have legalized its sale for any purpose. Full state legalization will be on the ballot in Oregon and Alaska in 2014 and likely California, Arizona and others in 2016. In Congress, the House of Representatives in 2010 voted to scale back its 100-1 ratio of punishment for crack cocaine versus white-powder cocaine....

"These four radical, unthinkable expansions of individual liberty are not liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. All flow from the small 'l' libertarian, live and let live, leave us alone, 'laissez-nous faire' attitude. Four movements calling for increased individual liberty while their opponents explained — with hundreds if not thousands of years of tradition and history to back them up — that society should have the power to control behavior for the public good."

Read more: http://www.ozy.com/c-notes/grover-norquist-on-the-libertarian-trend/34022.article
'via Blog this'

Alvin Toffler: "Shut down public education system"

Reshaping Learning from the Ground Up | Edutopia - interview by James Daly, Edutopia::

January 24, 2007 - Forty years after he and his wife, Heidi, set the world alight with Future Shock, Alvin Toffler remains a tough assessor of our nation's social and technological prospects. Though he's best known for his work discussing the myriad ramifications of the digital revolution, he also loves to speak about the education system that is shaping the hearts and minds of America's future. We met with him near his office in Los Angeles, where the celebrated septuagenarian remains a clear and radical thinker.

You've been writing about our educational system for decades. What's the most pressing need in public education right now?

"Alvin Toffler: Shut down the public education system....

"Let's look back at the history of public education in the United States.... Late in the 1800s, during the Industrial Revolution, business leaders began complaining about all these rural kids who were pouring into the cities and going to work in our factories. Business leaders said that these kids were no good, and that what they needed was an educational system that would produce 'industrial discipline'....

"The public school system is designed to produce a workforce for an economy that will not be there. And therefore, with all the best intentions in the world, we're stealing the kids' future.

"Do I have all the answers for how to replace it? No. But it seems to me that before we can get serious about creating an appropriate education system for the world that's coming and that these kids will have to operate within, we have to ask some really fundamental questions....

"For example: Should education be compulsory? And, if so, for who? Why does everybody have to start at age five? Maybe some kids should start at age eight and work fast. Or vice versa. Why is everything massified in the system, rather than individualized in the system? New technologies make possible customization in a way that the old system -- everybody reading the same textbook at the same time -- did not offer.

"Any form of diversity that we can introduce into the schools is a plus. Today, we have a big controversy about all the charter schools that are springing up. The school system people hate them because they're taking money from them. I say we should radically multiply charter schools, because they begin to provide a degree of diversity in the system that has not been present. Diversify the system.

"In our book Revolutionary Wealth, we play a game. We say, imagine that you're a policeman, and you've got a radar gun, and you're measuring the speed of cars going by. Each car represents an American institution. The first one car is going by at 100 miles per hour. It's called business. Businesses have to change at 100 miles per hour because if they don't, they die. Competition just puts them out of the game. So they're traveling very, very fast.

"Then comes another car. And it's going 10 miles per hour. That's the public education system. Schools are supposed to be preparing kids for the business world of tomorrow, to take jobs, to make our economy functional. The schools are changing, if anything, at 10 miles per hour. So, how do you match an economy that requires 100 miles per hour with an institution like public education? A system that changes, if at all, at 10 miles per hour?"

Read more: http://www.edutopia.org/future-school
 'via Blog this'

Ron Paul encourages families to homeschool

Ron Paul Encourages Families to Homeschool Children, Teach Libertarian Values - Morgan Lee, Christian Post:

September 19, 2013 - "Former presidential candidate and devout libertarian Ron Paul has encouraged American families to homeschool their children today on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

"'I want people to homeschool their children. Not everybody. This is designed to pick out the leaders that want to and maybe 20 percent might be interested in doing this,' said Paul, who appeared on the show to promote his new book, New School Manifesto: A Libertarian Look at American Education.

"Paul explained that homeschooling a new generation of leaders and students "would be taught different economics; they would have a different perspective on history"....

Paul went on to suggest that while most American students had been taught that Woodrow Wilson was one of the greatest presidents, in reality 'he violently abused our civil liberties, he was the one that told us we had to march around the world and he was the one that changed our foreign policy.'"

Read more: http://www.christianpost.com/news/ron-paul-encourages-families-to-homeschool-children-teach-libertarian-values-104939/
'via Blog this'

Ron Paul launches libertarian-edged home school curriculum

Ron Paul launches libertarian-edged home school curriculum | Fox News:

April 8, 2013 - "Ron Paul ... has found a new way to spread his libertarian message – an online, home-school program that is based on the 'history of liberty' and teaches the 'biblical principles of self-government.'

"The former Texas Republican congressman and three-time presidential candidate is offering the program, called the 'Ron Paul Curriculum,' free to parents and students in kindergarten through fifth grade. However, Paul, following his own belief in a free-market economy, is charging those wishing to continue through the 12th grade.

"The 77-year-old Paul ... has assembled a faculty-staff that includes author Tom Woods. 'For people who have been wondering what Ron Paul has been up to since retiring from Congress, then here’s your answers,' Woods said in announcing the start of the program. 'This, I am convinced, will prove to be Ron Paul’s most significant contribution to the cause of liberty.'"

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/08/ron-paul-starts-libertarian-minded-money-back-guaranteed-home-school-program/
'via Blog this'