Letter: Choice might spur more reform
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Your editorial of June 9 (“Jindal plans avoid crisis”) correctly states that the bills in question do not constitute an overhaul of the education system. But you may be overestimating what could have been accomplished in this legislative session and underestimating the potential impact of school choice.
The existence of a “slow-motion crisis” in education is undeniable. But this crisis has been generations in the making and touches upon many complex issues.
Given these hard realities, can anyone expect a realistic solution to emerge from a governor who has been in office for five months and a Legislature with so many new members?
Louisiana governors may have broad powers, but they are not dictators. Major policy reform is a process that usually occurs over a period of years. This is particularly true in the case of education, where an enormous entrenched bureaucracy can thwart the most ambitious of reformers. Therefore these bills should be judged on their merits rather than dismissing them because they were not part of a more comprehensive package.
Greater attention should have been given to the bill providing scholarships to low-income New Orleans children. The charge that it would lead to “no meaningful changes” must ring hollow to anyone who cannot afford to leave a failing public school.
While allowing students to choose another school may not constitute a complete overhaul, life preservers and lifeboats are better than being trapped on a sinking ship.
Expanding school choice through these scholarships could also lead to more comprehensive reforms down the road. Who knows? People may get used to the idea of choosing a school that addresses their needs and will start demanding a broader range of alternatives.
If that happens, this policy will have proven to be much more than what The Advocate calls “window dressing” for the “Beltway right.”
Kevin P. Kane, president
Pelican Institute for Public Policy
New Orleans
The existence of a “slow-motion crisis” in education is undeniable. But this crisis has been generations in the making and touches upon many complex issues.
Given these hard realities, can anyone expect a realistic solution to emerge from a governor who has been in office for five months and a Legislature with so many new members?
Louisiana governors may have broad powers, but they are not dictators. Major policy reform is a process that usually occurs over a period of years. This is particularly true in the case of education, where an enormous entrenched bureaucracy can thwart the most ambitious of reformers. Therefore these bills should be judged on their merits rather than dismissing them because they were not part of a more comprehensive package.
Greater attention should have been given to the bill providing scholarships to low-income New Orleans children. The charge that it would lead to “no meaningful changes” must ring hollow to anyone who cannot afford to leave a failing public school.
While allowing students to choose another school may not constitute a complete overhaul, life preservers and lifeboats are better than being trapped on a sinking ship.
Expanding school choice through these scholarships could also lead to more comprehensive reforms down the road. Who knows? People may get used to the idea of choosing a school that addresses their needs and will start demanding a broader range of alternatives.
If that happens, this policy will have proven to be much more than what The Advocate calls “window dressing” for the “Beltway right.”
Kevin P. Kane, president
Pelican Institute for Public Policy
New Orleans
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