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.