By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Universal school choice is one of the hottest trends nationally. Ten states now embrace universal programs, meaning every single student in a state – not just low-income or special needs students – can access a voucher or an education savings account to attend a school of their choice. Eight states moved to universal choice in 2023 – Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and North Carolina. West Virginia and Arizona were already in. Tennessee is up next.
Call it educational freedom. Call it empowerment. Call it parents’ rights. Families, in particular those trapped in failing schools, finally get to choose where the public tax dollars dedicated to their children get spent. Rather than remain captive customers in union-dominated educational systems that no longer teach kids how to read or do math, these parents are being given the chance to create better futures for their children.
The move to universal matters because as states that surround Illinois increasingly support universal school choice, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his legislative allies have just killed school choice in Illinois. It’s the first time a state has wiped out school choice like that.
Tennessee’s proposal is to give every single student in the state access to an Education Savings Account (ESA) worth up to $7,000. The money comes from the state’s coffers that would have otherwise been used to fund a student’s attendance at a public school.
An ESA is restricted to education needs and can be used for school tuition, tutoring, online education programs, textbooks and more. ESAs provide the ultimate parent empowerment, allowing them to design, choose and purchase precisely what their children need.
Tennessee expects to limit ESAs to 20,000 students in its first year, and thereafter open it up to every Tennessee student in the state. Its program is similar to Iowa’s which will give students access to ESAs totaling $6,800.
Thirteen states in the country now have ESAs, while another 14 states offer traditional vouchers.
Illinois’ education failure
At Wirepoints, we’ve worked hard to sound the alarm about the gross failure of the state’s public school system, especially given the fact that Illinois now spends all in, on average, $24,000 per student. At Chicago Public Schools it’s even higher – now nearly $30,000 per student.
It’s hard to fathom the results below, but they come straight from Gov. Pritzker’s Education Department and its Illinois Report Card.
- Only 7 of every 100 black students in Peoria’s school district (7,100 blacks enrolled) can read at grade level.
- Only 12 of every 100 white students in Decatur’s school district (2,350 whites enrolled) can read at grade level.
- Only 14 of every 100 Hispanic students in Elgin’s school district (19,700 Hispanics enrolled) can read at grade level.
At Harlan Community Academy, the public school that Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates rejected for her own son in favor of a private school, just 5 of every 100 kids there can read at grade level.
Overall in Illinois, 1.2 million of the state’s 1.85 million public school students can’t read at grade level. In math, 1.4 million aren’t at grade level.
Extrapolate for yourself the future of these children, those communities and Illinois overall when it comes to poverty, crime and economic growth.
That future is dire enough to support a massive expansion of school choice. Instead, House Speaker Chris Welch, Senate President Don Harmon and Gov. Pritzker – and the teachers unions that support them – have killed it.
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If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Illinois Politicians have cannabalized public education by stuffing their own coffers with campaign cash from teachers unions.
Education in Illinois is going to fail whether you like it or not. Teacher’s unions have their priorities and know what’s best for the rest of us and our kids. If we could all just accept that, they can keep raking in the dough and we can move to those school choice states. Welcome to another deplorable Illinois decision. Remember this the next time you vote.
Some of the most smug people I have met are retired IL teachers – they largely live in fantasy.
One person’s perception doesn’t speak for the universe of opinions possible as presumably you will agree. So, how seriously are we supposed to consider you’re very strong opinion here? You’ve encountered how many teachers your life—30, 300, 3,000, 30,000? Even at that highest number your experience would be based on a pittance percentage of the IL teachers past and present that might impress you differently.
It doesn’t matter – that’s my observation over 35 years.
So, you and the four down-voters somehow presume to speak with unyielding authority as if truly represent the rest of the IL population? Lots of hubris there.
I consider my sample size to be significant.
I had three hot dogs that made me sick, and I’ve never had another one. Clearly all hot dogs are bad news.
It is time to place the source of low reading scores where it belongs. The colleges that train elementary teachers are doing a lousy job in” teaching young students to read”. I have heard from reading specialists that new teachers have no idea how to teach reading to anyone other than a high level achieving student.
Competition breeds excellence.
In my area when the teachers threaten strike there is an overwhelming response amounting to “give them what they want so the schools stay open.” Oh there are the catch phrases like “its for the children” blah blah but the emphasis is to get those schools open. I deduce from this that for many Illinois parents it is all about baby sitting and quality of education isn’t in the picture. Lets see next election if this issue becomes a campaign issue which I seriously doubt because Illinois parents, as a general statement, simply want free baby sitters.
It is done on purpose. They usually threaten to strike right before school starts and not in the middle of summer. This way if they strike parents have to scramble to find child care or take off work.
You hit the nail on the head with that. So, as wee gather, the purpose for schools in Illinois is primarily for baby sitting and as far as education well the numbers speak for themselves. Perhaps we can assume parents that actually care out migrate to other states where things like school choice are becoming assessable. Illinois…what a place.
Do you think school choice will be on any ballot soon? Take a look at your local private schools K-12 and see what the per pupil costs are vs the public schools. Parents do have a choice private vs public but if they choose private they still have to pay for public mostly via your home value and not a fixed amount. In private they have a fixed amount and costs are not based on your home value but I believe your ability to pay may be factored in but not sure. There need to be an entire overhaul of… Read more »
Freddy – in my high school athletic days both Rockford East and Guilford had excellent athletes and from talking to them it was clear that both (for the late 70’s) were good schools. I understand that this is not the case now. What do truly caring parents in Rockford do these days? Go to Boylan? Move? Navigate with diligence the public schools? Just trying to get a grip on the practical realities.
Many options in Rockford. Christian Life-Lutheran or if someone can afford Keith Country which is still less expensive that the Rockford school district per pupil. True those schools you mentioned were decent schools way back but I think the People Who care Lawsuit changed a lot by instituting busing and racial quotas and everything was racist long before it became en vogue plus cost taxpayers $250M or so.
Busing and quotas ruined many schools as those who could care less about an education were bussed into districts where students did care. Of course my comment will be labeled as hidden racism but the numbers speak for themselves but, as we know, mathematics is racist as well these days.
And now after all the money spent to integrate students they are now separating students again so back to square 1. The only ones who benefited were the attorneys.
And they scream and holler about systemic racism. What hypocrites!
Proud of my new state Tennessee for expanding school choice. Proud that it phased out the state income tax just before I moved here. When was the last time you Illinois residents had anything, even minor, to be proud about? Guys, it’s just a one-day drive to Tennessee from Chicago. What are you waiting for? Come on down and have fun thrashing the liberals in the next election, or do you enjoy having Illinois shove wokeness up your behinds?