CHOICE
AND CHARTERS SHOULD EXPAND
IN LITTLE ROCK
"The
most callused aspect of the (Arkansas) education monopoly is that it willingly
and deliberately forces children--except those whose parents have wealth--to
attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents
already struggling financially and at the expense of their ability to choose a
better school for their sons and daughters." Policy
Foundation report (Murphy Commission) 1998
(February 2016) School
choice and charter schools have advanced since the Little Rock School District
was taken over by the state one year ago.
The Succeed Scholarship Program, Arkansas' first school choice law was
enacted by the state legislature but awaits funding. The E-STEM and Lisa Academy charter systems are
also proposing to expand in Little Rock.
Both ideas should advance in
2016. Critics of school choice and
charters have condemned the state takeover.
These defenders of the Little Rock status-quo in Little Rock lack
credibility. They excused poor academic
performance for decades and have not offered credible policy alternatives.
The Policy Foundation has
maintained an interest in education reform since its founding 21 years ago. The
Foundation published the first Arkansas study calling for charters in 1996.1 The reform has advanced, with 23 conversion
charters and 29 open-enrollment charters
operating in the 2015-2016 school year, state Department of Education records2 show. The Foundation also called attention to
Little Rock's serious academic and fiscal issues in a 1999 study.3 The critics who disputed there was a problem
in Little Rock continue their opposition to choice and charters. They ignore the parents, guardians and
students who support these ideas.
School choice and charters should expand in Little Rock--for the students.
1 Allyson Tucker and Donna Watson. Arkansas' Weak Charter School Law: Failing
The Grade.
2 Arkansas Department of Education: http://www.arkansased.org/contact-us/charter-schools
3 A Performance Analysis of the Little Rock School District: Ten years of
rising revenues and declining student academic achievement. The study is posted at:
www.arkansaspolicyfoundation.org