Publisher: Battle for La. vouchers part of a just war for school choice

A war has been raging for years in Louisiana over school choice, and District Judge Tim Kelley’s Nov. 30 ruling that the state’s funding mechanism for its new voucher program is unconstitutional was just one shot in the latest battle, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. “The war will continue,” McCollister writes in his latest column. “But given that it’s about children, their parents and their right to a great education—not to mention their chance in the future—it’s a war worth fighting. The outcome will impact us all.” The Black Alliance for Educational Options describes the current fight in Louisiana over school choice as the civil rights issue of our day, and McCollister agrees. As the war moves toward its day before the Louisiana Supreme Court, McCollister says, “this has become a contest pitting what is best for children (students) versus what is best for adults (union members).” McCollister says the teachers unions opposed to the statewide voucher program are really against school choice and competition. If they win, he says, Louisiana and its children will lose. “Let parents direct tax dollars to what works for them. Competition will make government-run schools better and offer more options to children to succeed. The old model must change, and the unions shouldn’t stand in the way. Neither should the judges. It’s wrong, and children will suffer in the future—along with the rest of our state,” he says. Read the full column here; and send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.