School choice critics ignore inequality ‘baked into’ public schools, expert says

The common claim that popular school choice programs will exacerbate inequality fails to account for the inequality already “baked into the government school system.”

That is according to Dr. Corey DeAngelis, a leading school choice advocate, who spoke to The Lion in response to a recently published article.

Writing in The 74, David Osborne, a progressive reformer who seeks to “reinvent government,” argues education savings accounts passed in 17 Republican-led states “will accelerate the process of the rich getting richer while the poor fall further behind.”

“Turning the K-12 education system into a marketplace, in which the quality of a child’s school depends upon how much their parents can afford to pay, will only widen the gaps between haves and have-nots,” he writes. “Sadly, (17) Republican states have taken a huge step down that path.”

Additionally, “Republicans in Congress have quietly slipped a national voucher program worth $5,000 per child into their ‘one big beautiful bill,’” he adds.

Osborne says school choice promotes inequality because families can “top up vouchers with their own money,” a practice he’d like to ban but acknowledges lacks political support. This means equal opportunity will “fly out the window,” since poorer students will “attend public schools or the least expensive private schools.”

He also levels other familiar criticisms: that private schools can “discriminate” by choosing whom they admit, aren’t subject to state testing requirements, and may raise tuition once school choice is implemented – something which is disputed. 

Unfounded allegations 

DeAngelis, however, says Osborne’s arguments are unfounded and points to ways in which public schools perpetuate the very issues Osborne raises. 

Government schools “discriminate on the basis of zip code,” DeAngelis told The Lion in an email. “Low-income families are currently trapped in the worst government schools without any options – and the teachers unions fight to keep it that way. 

“Those teachers unions control the Democratic Party and that’s the only reason why school choice hasn’t passed in blue states. They want to maintain their monopoly over funding, and – more nefariously – over the minds of other people’s children. Funding students directly empowers more families to access education opportunities. School choice is an equalizer.” 

DeAngelis also notes that most research shows public schools improve when faced with competition. “School choice is a rising tide that lifts all boats,” he says. 

And then he takes the gloves off: 

“Enough with the fearmongering,” he says. “We’re freeing families from the clutches of the teachers unions once and for all and that’s good news for kids. 

“Parents know and care more about their children’s education needs than anyone else, certainly more than bureaucrats sitting in offices hundreds of miles away. The money doesn’t belong to the government schools. Education funding is meant for educating children, not for protecting a particular institution. It’s time for every state to fund students, not systems.” 

Political backlash? 

DeAngelis even predicts a political backlash against Democrats who oppose school choice, especially now that such programs are available to half of all U.S. students. 

“Red states are going all-in to empower parents with education freedom,” he says. “The blue states will come along once their politicians realize they need to listen to the kids’ union – the parents – and not just the teachers union. 

“If they don’t join the right side of history soon, parents will ultimately hold them accountable at the ballot box.”