Utah voters will decide the fate of their state's voucher program next Tuesday. John Stossel today makes a persuasive case for why they should vote to keep the innovative plan in place:
Vouchers will make schools accountable to parents rather than a bureaucracy. Principals and administrators will have to convince parents that they are doing a good job. That's real accountability. And the Utah law requires private schools to submit to independent financial audits and give students a nationally recognized test each year. The results would be publicly disclosed, giving parents information they can use to judge schools.
Opposition to the program is being lead--surprise!--by the teachers unions who want to maintain a monopoly on education money. Utah teachers should check out IWF's latest paper on school choice since good teacher have a lot to gain from a competitive education marketplace.