The Presidential Debate and Choice: A Brief Appearance

Just a few days after we urged the Commission on Presidential Debates to pose questions to the candidates about education, the topic made a surprising but much-needed appearance during last night’s presidential debate.  In a segment on the role of government, moderator Jim Lehrer asked President Obama and Governor Romney about the federal government’s responsibility to improve public education.

Both candidates pointed to the success of the President’s Race to the Top initiative, as well as their support for teachers.  While there were some jabs—it was a presidential debate, after all—the two candidates also differed on the substance of their education stances.

Romney called for more educational options:

My own view, by the way, is I've added to that. I happen to believe, I want the kids that are getting federal dollars from IDEA or Title I— these are disabled kids or poor kids or lower-income kids, rather, I want them to be able to go to the school of their choice.

So all federal funds, instead of going to the — to the state or to the school district, I'd have go, if you will, follow the child and let the parent and the child decide where to send their student.

The former Massachusetts governor went on to say:

The right answer for government is say, How do we make the private sector become more efficient and more effective? How do we get schools to be more competitive? Let's grade them. I propose we grade our schools so parents know which schools are succeeding and failing, so they can take their child to a — to a school that he's being more successful.

I don't want to cut our commitment to education. I wanted to make it more effective and efficient. And by the way, I've had that experience. I don't just talk about it. I've been there. Massachusetts schools are ranked number one in the nation. This is not because I didn't have commitment to education. It's because I care about education for all of our kids.

If You Could Pose One Question...

...to either of this year's presidential candidates, what would it be?

We here at School Choice Now! have thought of that ourselves recently, which is why we reached out to folks from President Obama and Governor Romney's campaigns to find out what they think about educational choice. The respective campaign responses (or lack thereof) may or may not surprise you, but either way, it gives you insight into what both candidates think about educational choice, as well as what we'd ask if we had a say in this year's presidential debates.

We even sent our proposed questions, along with an explanation of why this issue is so important to our country's future, to the Commission on Presidential Debates as well as the debate moderators.

Take a look at our letters to them, to each of the campaigns, as well as the responses, by clicking here.

And be sure to watch the first debate this Wednesday, October 3 at 9 p.m. EST! It takes place in Denver, CO, and will be moderated by PBS NewsHour host Jim Lehrer. The topic is domestic policy, so who knows...maybe an education question or two will make it in!

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MAG

Vice Presidential Support for School Choice, Past and Present

“Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy” may be the most famous line uttered during a vice presidential debate, and now that Paul Ryan has joined Mitt Romney in the race for the White House, let’s take a look at both the Paul Ryan’s and Vice President Joe Biden’s support of educational options.

Joe Biden

The Obama-Biden Administration remains steadfast in its opposition to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.  Despite having made a deal to reauthorize the program for five years, the President zeroed out funding for the program in his budget.  But long before Joe Biden was Vice President Joe Biden, he supported vouchers:

Even if vouchers were to take money away from the public schools--and I should point out that not all voucher proposals do--that does not in and of itself mean that public schools will be harmed. 

When you have an area of the country--and most often here we are talking about inner cities--where the public schools are abysmal or dysfunctional or not working and where most of the children have no way out, it is legitimate to ask what would happen to the public schools with increased competition from private schools and what would happen to the quality of education for the children who live there. 

Paul Ryan

While the President’s budget zeroed out funding, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget would fund the program as intended by federal law.  And it makes sense, since Ryan hails from the Badger State, which is home to the nation’s longest running voucher program.  The Washington Times’ Deborah Simmons, praised Ryan’s support of school choice, writing:

As for the other end of the education spectrum, Mr. Ryan is spot on, earning an A+ for school choice during all seven of his terms in Congress, especially for his support of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

Both of these officials have seen the benefit of school choice, let’s hope they truly support educational options in the race for the White House.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG