Opposing school choice will be a liability for Democrats in the 2016 election, argues one political strategist.
“Let’s call this move what it is: a pivot in the wrong policy direction to pander to a sizable interest group — teachers’ unions — that comes at the expense of mostly low-income, minority kids who desperately need high-quality school options,” Francesca Jarosz Brady wrote in an op-ed published by The Hill on Nov. 13. “The Democrats’ education reform reversal is not just wrongheaded on the substance; it’s also a bad move politically for a myriad of reasons.”
Jarosz Brady is vice president at Vox Global, a strategic communications and public affairs firm.
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She goes on to cite several factors that show the political tides are shifting in favor of more school choice.
For example, millennials have grown up in an era of innovation. It’s unlikely they will support a party that wants to maintain a 20th-century, one-size-fits-all status quo in education. “It’s no wonder, then, that GOP pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson identified education as an issue on which Republicans have the potential to win over young voters in her book, The Selfie Vote,” Jarosz Brady wrote.
Historically, low-income and minority supporters of school choice have supported Democrats. If Democrats reject education reform, they’ll start to lose support from their traditional bases. “In recent years they’ve begun to mobilize behind the issue — as demonstrated by high-profile student protests of threats to charter schools and pushback against the Common Core opt-out movement from key civil rights groups,” Jarosz Brady wrote. “It’s not a stretch, then, to imagine a rollback of federal policies that support high academic standards and quality school options could shift behavior among these voters on a broader scale.”
Many Democrats have championed education reforms of some kind without being hurt at the ballot box, Jarosz Brady says. President Obama, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., have all won elections after reforming education.
“Rather than backing away from reform, the 2016 contenders should seize the opportunity to build from the existing momentum their high-profile fellow Democrats have established and make K-12 education reform a nonpartisan issue,” Jarosz Brady says. “Then, instead of bickering over interest-group-driven politics, we could have a substantive, national conversation about how to refine the much-needed reforms so they create the best opportunities for kids who need them most.”
Jarosz Brady says charter schools across the country are doing a better job of educating students. “Democrats across the country are recognizing these realities and acting accordingly. Their peers in the 2016 race should follow suit — for the sake of their political future, and the well-being of millions of their youngest constituents.”
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
