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Political insiders say presidential campaigns don't truly begin until Labor Day—poll results crystallize, the ranks of undecided voters dwindle, the map settles. It is not without irony that these days of decisiveness coincide with the start of a new school year, when parents are reminded daily about the stakes of political decisionmaking.
Parents recognize that their children are returning to school amid a crisis that is oddly absent from the campaign-trail speeches. A national survey found that one in three parents is concerned about learning loss in the wake of school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those fears are well founded. The average eighth grader's math scores hit their lowest level since 1990, and reading scores their lowest since 1975, according to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress.
In what is expected to be a historically close election, the winner may be the candidate who best uses the bully pulpit to speak about education. Thus far, the proposals from both parties fail to meet the demands of the moment. Voters have heard Republicans repeat prior failed promises to eliminate the Department of Education, while the newly released Democratic Party platform dismisses any reforms to empower parents as "schemes" rather than opportunities.
Four years after the pandemic caused the largest education crisis in modern history, our national leaders have retreated to the ideological fringes. They should instead look to successful policies at work in states across the partisan spectrum. Swing-state Arizona and deep-red Florida have put parents in control of their children's futures—efforts that have dramatically increased educational achievement, especially for low-income students. Washington, D.C., and New York state, both firmly Democratic, remain national leaders in fostering outstanding results through strong charter school laws.
While states drive education policy forward, we have seen national leaders demonstrate the ability to deliver needed change. Bill Clinton's embrace of charter schools helped these innovative public schools explode from a few cities to nearly every state in the union. George W. Bush's embrace of accountability for federal funding helped spur reforms. Both presidents' decisions met the needs of their moment and have continued to advance better outcomes, but they alone are inadequate for most American children and families whose schools deliver barely passing rates.
Make no mistake; there is no shortage of entrepreneurial and passionate educators innovating to meet the needs of today's students. But there is not enough access to these programs to meet the needs of the tens of thousands of families who, decades ago, began opting out of conventional approaches to education when given the opportunity.
In the past four years we have witnessed exploding demand for new education models that make place and space secondary to utilizing new technology to enhance the learning, delivery, and assessment processes that lead to student success. In 2021-22, only 83 percent of students attended traditional public schools, a drop of more than 10 percent since the turn of the century.
If a parent is lucky enough to live in a community or state where diverse learning opportunities abound, their student will be fine. If not, their student is at the mercy of a system that looks a lot more like your father's Oldsmobile than a Tesla.
With the majority of students heading back to school, the challenge for the political parties and the people whose votes they covet is simple—ensure every student is worth the same amount of money in every state and parents are permitted to spend all of those dollars on the education that best meets the needs of their children. It need not go through districts only to be siphoned off for administrative bloat. It need not be earmarked for services and support provided by groups or special interests that parents may feel do not help their children succeed.
School districts cannot spend their way to success. Not only did $190 billion in federal COVID funds to states and communities not move the needle for a majority of students stuck with the same education they had before the pandemic, but districts are now screaming about a fiscal cliff. They expended millions on new staff knowing there was no guarantee funds would continue to sustain such increases. It was irresponsible. When the parents and educators closest to students are in charge of money, and parents drive enrollment, they not only do well for kids, but are fiscally responsible.
Fortunately, in this age of hyperpartisanship, education offers a rare instance for unity across the political spectrum. Support for expanding education opportunities for students crosses all demographic lines, from party identification to race, gender, and ethnicity. This movement is beyond bipartisan—it is tripartisan, with two-thirds of Democrats, 80 percent of Republicans, and 69 percent of Independents calling for a shake-up.
Minority voters overwhelmingly support education freedom in survey after survey—with support highest among Black voters. That support is evident when one looks at who is attending—and running—some of the best and most innovative schools in the country.
This burgeoning movement of parent power is in need of champions willing to overcome division and deliver results for struggling students. Parent votes are very much up for grabs. Election Day is fast approaching, and neither party can afford to miss this school bus.
Jeanne Allen is founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
