Today, that idea is school choice. The recent defeat of voucher initiatives in California and Michigan has encouraged opponents of choice, but these setbacks pale compared to progress already made. Two failed ballot initiatives cannot reverse this clear mandate for greater parental control. It is no longer a matter of if but rather how the barriers that prevent parents from choosing schools will come tumbling down.
Vouchers are one means to that end, but there are others.
One of the most promising is the universal education credit. The credit would be worth up to one-half of what public schools spend per student, and taxpayers may take the credit for multiple students provided the combination of credits does not exceed their tax liability. Because any taxpayer can direct his tax dollars toward scholarships, scholarship pools will be large enough to accommodate the country's poorest families who could not use the credit directly. For one thing, education tops the list of employer and public concerns. Given the choice of pouring taxes into government coffers or targeting some of those dollars directly to education scholarships, many people would rather assist students.