School choice is key to ensuring parental rights

School choice season has arrived in all 50 states.

Arizona, Florida, Iowa and West Virginia have already enacted laws that allow parents to choose their children’s schools and ensure that state funding is matched to the student. Lawmakers and parents in Tennessee and Texas are making similar efforts. While that’s encouraging, it also means that 44 states are lagging behind the hallmark education reform movements of our time. It’s time for all parents to speak up.

The reason we need school choice is simple. Because when it comes to the basic purpose of schools: educating children, many public schools deserve failing grades.

A FOX investigation last year found that 23 schools in Baltimore had no students tested for math proficiency. In his other 20 schools, only one student or two students tested at grade level. Ninety-three percent of Baltimore public school students (more than 70,000 students) performed below grade level in math, and 84 percent (more than 65,000 students) performed below grade level in reading.

It’s easy to think this is just a Baltimore problem, but parents are learning that’s not the case. In 30 schools in Illinois, no students were reading at grade level, according to data reviewed by Wirepoints. In mathematics, the situation was even worse, with 53 schools unable to move any students up to grade level.

Reviewing these alarming findings, economist Stephen Moore rightly describes the situation as “a case of widespread educational child abuse.” Moore noted that Illinois officials have called some of these failing schools “deserving of praise,” rather than imposing results on them. If schools don’t teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, why on earth can they be praised?

It is clear that there is no effective oversight in taxpayer-funded schools, so it is up to parents to pay attention and demand answers.Terrible test scores show what our schools are do not have In addition to teaching, parents also need to monitor what schools are doing. teeth Often it’s even more shocking.

My organization, Moms for America, has developed resources to help parents identify problematic trends in education. One of the reasons students don’t have time to learn basic math and reading is that aside from the fact that teachers unions kept schools needlessly closed in 2020, what constitutes legal class time? is being spent promoting an ideological curriculum that has nothing to do with it. order.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the most pervasive trend that jeopardizes student success. Administrators use surveys to measure student attitudes and behavior and manipulate classroom instruction to emphasize emotion and create openings for revisionist propaganda. It sounds too far-fetched to be true, but whistleblowers are speaking out and parents are seeing it happen before their eyes.

Another worrying trend is the use of critical race theory (CRT) in the curriculum. Ironically, CRT claims to be the solution to racism, pushes racism onto students, and encourages them to view all subjects and personal interactions through the lens of race.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis took the bold step of banning CRTs, a move other states should follow. But that’s not enough. In addition to CRT, radical activists in school administrations and teachers’ unions also spread left-wing messages about anti-religious, anti-American, and anti-family bigotry, as well as gender in the classroom. At a time when young people are already suffering from a mental health crisis, what we need most are programs that encourage students to hate themselves and their country.

We can no longer rely on public schools to teach basic skills in math and reading. Progressive activities in school administration and classrooms replaced traditional instruction with left-wing propaganda. This is a serious threat to our children.

What could be the solution? Parents choose which school their children attend.

Contrary to the anti-choice spin promoted by self-serving teachers unions, school choice does not cost taxpayers more money. In fact, you could easily save money. Schools in the same Maryland and Illinois states have recently revealed financial distress, spending about $16,000 and $18,000 per student, respectively, compared to the average private school tuition in Maryland. is about $14,000, compared to just $9,000 in Illinois.

Activist groups have held students hostage for too long. It’s time to cut them off. Our children are this country’s most precious resource. What they learn today will determine our country tomorrow. Mothers are one of the most powerful influences on the formation of young patriots. The time has come for schools to support mothers in their work and work with them to educate good citizens who can think for themselves and reason.

Moms for America is working with state legislators and governors to pass school choice laws, and our legislative teams are also working on Capitol Hill. With an army of moms, we can speak with a powerful voice to elected officials across America.

Children’s education is an important issue that we cannot afford to ignore. The time has come to demand equal access to quality education. every American child.

Kimberly Fletcher is the founder, president, and CEO of Moms for America, a national nonprofit 501c3 educational corporation rooted in the principles of freedom and virtue on which our nation was founded. Through home and family, especially American women and mothers.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.