The line-up of factions in Utah-where an important vote on school vouchers takes place today-shows a high degree of irony. In a piece on “the inconvenient voucher truth” on National Review, Lyall Swim, head of a think tank in Utah, notes:
“It is not the NAACP or teachers’ union coming to the rescue of minority families, but conservative Republicans, who have stepped forward with a solution to give a hand up. It is Republicans, not Democrats, who have gone to Milwaukee to study the city’s successful voucher program and see how it could be applied in a state where minorities are struggling in record numbers.
“The magnitude of what vouchers could mean for minority students in Utah seems lost on voucher opponents. The anti-voucher camp is more intent on selling the idea that Utah’s private schools are too expensive for low-income families, on highlighting the perceived lack of accountability in the law, or speculating about the potential cost of the voucher program, than facing up to their system’s failure with respect to minority students.”