New Report Demonstrates Louisiana's Rich History of Educational Choice
WEB RELEASE: May 1, 2008
CONTACT: (703) 682-9320
Lisa Knepper
[School Choice]
Arlington, Va.—As the Louisiana Legislature considers providing low-income and working class children in New Orleans scholarships to attend the school of their choice—public or private, religious or non-religious—a report released today shows how choice, and especially school choice, is nothing new to Louisiana.
“Choice and Opportunity: The Past and Future of Choice-Based Aid in Louisiana,” finds that the state of Louisiana already makes at least $174 million available to its citizens through 12 similar choice-based programs in education and other social services. Those programs currently serve at least 210,000 citizens—and those numbers are likely an undercount. Indeed, thousands of additional children and schools, both public and private, were given new educational hope thanks to federally funded, state-directed aid after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In Louisiana, choice-based aid is especially prominent in education, where both pre-K and college students can receive state scholarships or grants to attend the school of their choice, public or private, religious or non-religious. These include the popular TOPS programs, which work just like school choice programs. In addition, families who currently choose K-12 private schools receive transportation and textbook support.
“Extending educational opportunity to K-12 students in New Orleans simply builds on Louisiana’s rich and successful tradition of choice in public programs—while ensuring that more families can choose a school that fits their child’s needs,” said Dr. Dick M. Carpenter II, IJ’s director of strategic research and a co-author of the report with IJ Research Associate John K. Ross.
The report also underscores another vital point about the proposed scholarship program: It is fully consistent with the Louisiana Constitution.
“The New Orleans scholarships and Louisiana’s existing school choice programs all offer recipients the free and independent choice of public, private and religious institutions,” said Dick Komer, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice, which has successfully defended school choice in courtrooms nationwide. “They are all constitutional because parents and students—not the government—do the choosing from a wide array of both religious and non-religious options.”
“Public schools and private schools can go hand-in-hand as educational opportunities for children in need,” said Louisiana State Rep. Tim Burns, a long-time proponent of school choice programs. “It is simply inefficient to ignore private school capacity when the city of New Orleans is trying to recover and ensure its population has access to a quality education.”
The report, “Choice and Opportunity,” is available at www.ij.org.