Op-Ed: Weisenstein: School choice is good for me, so of course it’s good for thee?

Three of Rena Garrett’s children went to Chicago Public Schools. The fourth, Courtney, floundered when he got to high school.

“Private school for Courtney was way better than public school. He went from being this terrible little kid that would run through the hallway because the teachers would let him, to a leader,” Garrett said. “He helped the smaller kids get used to the private school environment and they just loved him. He’s going to be top of his class.”

Public school is not for everyone. Our public leaders know that, because they often are products of private schools or send their children to them.

But what if you aren’t independently wealthy? What if the only school you can afford is the public one your taxes go to?

Then, maybe, your child is trapped in a school where he or she is allowed to be a terrible little kid running through the hallway. Then, maybe, the story doesn’t end well for your child.

More states are recognizing a traditional public school isn’t the best choice for all students. They are creating education savings accounts, vouchers and different tax credits. Iowa and Indiana just added taxpayer-funded education savings accounts to give families greater flexibility, and most Midwestern states have some form of school choice.

Right now, Illinois is one of 22 states that offer a tax credit to encourage donors to fund private-school scholarships for low-income students. It’s allowed 9,600 Illinois students to attend a school that better fits their needs, but that their parents would not have been able to afford without help. It’s encouraged about $50 million in donations a year for scholarship funds by offering a 75% state income tax credit on donations.

It all comes to a bitter end soon. Illinois risks being the lone state to take choice away from needy families.

When the Illinois General Assembly created the Invest in Kids program in 2017, they built in a sunset date. They extended that date by a year, but currently that date is the end of 2023.

Then the Garrett family is just out of luck.

“I have thought about what would happen if the scholarships went away,” Rena Garrett said. “It’s going to be a large burden on a lot of people, including myself. I pray that he gets to get the scholarship for the entire four years so he can stay on track.”

It is the rare soul who doesn’t want children to succeed or break from generations of poverty to become society’s contributors and leaders. It is illogical to think one school fits all, or that the benefits of private school should be reserved for the wealthy.

Illinois state lawmakers need only change a sentence in state law to save school choice in Illinois. They can serve thousands of low-income children relying on these scholarships and on the goodwill of their representatives. That chance comes during the fall legislative veto session.

Illinois students are still suffering the academic losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the inner cities. Just 14% of 3rd through 8th grade students from low-income families met proficiency standards in reading and 9% in math in 2022 within Chicago Public Schools.

Illinois has a chance to join the national tidal wave, giving families the choice to get out of oppressive school environments and into a diverse range of academic options. Voters want them to make that change: 63% of Illinoisans polled supported Invest in Kids. Another poll found 71% of Black voters and 81% of Hispanic voters backed it.

If members of the Illinois House and Illinois Senate intend to deny Courtney Garrett his shot at a better future, there must be a good reason why. Voters need to ask their state lawmakers whether they support saving Invest in Kids, and if they don’t, ask them why they think these 9,600 children don’t deserve the same opportunities to succeed that they can afford to provide their own children.

Brad Weisenstein is the managing editor for the Illinois Policy Institute, a non-partisan public policy think tank dedicated to giving Illinoisans freedom of choice.