Bobby Kennedy once said, “The youth of our nation are the clearest mirror of our performance.”
If that’s true, our nation deserves an F on its annual report card. America’s youth are in disarray. According to a CDC study, “The proportion of mental health-related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31%” compared to 2019. Early reports on testing scores since the start of COVID-19 are not great either. Results from standardized tests administered in a handful of states show a decline of about 10%-20% depending on the subject.
While there’s no one culprit to blame for the adverse effects on children during the pandemic, one thing is sure: school closures hurt students. They ripped children away from their friends, teachers, and school activities, forcing them to sit and learn in front of a computer for hours on end. Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped powerful political interests such as teachers unions from trying, and in some cases succeeding, in closing down schools again.
This year, state policymakers must take a tougher stand against these powerful interests. They must insulate education choice policies so that every child has an opportunity to attend a learning environment best suited for them.
2021 offers a template.
Last year, after teachers unions closed schools, parents and lawmakers fought back, passing education choice legislation in 18 states. They should carry that momentum into 2022. The 2021 education choice bills created an estimated 4.5 million more education savings accounts, tax-credit scholarships, and vouchers. These allowed students to use their education dollars at private schools and other locales that opted to pursue in-person learning. However, 4.5 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the near 50 million students in the United States.
Aside from simply allowing students and their families the option of in-person learning, school choice policies provide various other benefits. For instance, studies on education choice programs show higher rates of perceived safety, better academic outcomes, and increased parental satisfaction. Student mental health also benefits from education choice programs. According to one study, education choice policies decreased suicide rates by about 10% in 15-19-year-olds who attended charter schools.
Fortunately for students, support for education choice programs is high and crosses partisan, racial, and ethnic lines. Recent polling found nearly three-quarters of voters regardless of their party, race, or ethnicity support any type of education choice. More specifically, a staggering 84% of parents support education savings accounts, which permit funds otherwise earmarked for their child’s public school to be spent on education-related expenses, including private education, tutoring, learning materials, and special needs therapies.
It’s time for state policymakers to act. In 2022, education choice deserves to be a centerpiece of legislation across the nation.
Cooper Conway is a Young Voices contributor and a Frank Church scholar at the Boise State University Honors College.
