NHEG-September-October2022

September October 2022
NHEG EDGUIDE September - October 2022
So I think we can all sit here and have discussions about what would be the ideal circumstance, but I think sometimes
we’ve got to roll with what we have, and if we can get any of that money back to the families I think that’s an important
first step.”
Indeed, Milton Friedman also saw school choice policies such as vouchers as a first step in education reform, not a
final one. Friedman popularized the idea of school choice policies, specifically universal school vouchers, in his 1955
paper, “The Role of Government in Education,” and elaborated on his views over the following decades up until his
death in 2006 at the age of 94.
Friedman and his economist wife Rose wrote in their influential book, Free To Choose: “We regard the voucher plan as
a partial solution because it affects neither the financing of schooling nor the compulsory attendance laws. We favor
going much farther.”
While Arizona’s new legislation now makes it the forerunner in education choice policies across the country, West
Virginia is close behind and begins to address compulsory attendance. Lawmakers there recently passed legislation
that loosens state compulsory school attendance laws for participants in learning pods and microschools, two emerging,
decentralized K-12 learning models that are gaining popularity across the country. West Virginia also passed an
education savings account program last year, known as the Hope Scholarship, that extends education choice to nearly
all K-12 students.
The education disruption over the past two years has re-energized parents and taxpayers alike. They are demanding
more options beyond an assigned district school, embracing innovative learning models, and loosening the government
grip on education. As Friedman envisioned, a choice-based system of education weakens the government
monopoly on schooling and sparks innovation and competition to ultimately “change the character of education.”
We are seeing that change occur right before our eyes.
Source: The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)
https://fee.org/
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