‘Incredibly disappointed’ in Board chair’s EFA stance
Letter to the Editor
I was incredibly disappointed to see the Letter to the Editor from the chair of the Knox County Board of Education, Betsy Henderson. Frankly, I can’t believe that anyone in her position would have publicly come out in favor of this legislation, given who/what her chair is supposed to advocate for.
The overwhelming opposition that the Education Freedom Act had from the voters in Knox County is also well-documented, but apparently that has completely fallen on deaf ears. Our state senator, Dr. Richard Briggs (R-District 7), was the lone exception.
As a dad of two young girls and husband of a teacher, I’m confident that many Knox County constituents, including myself, favor the concept of school choice.
Every child has a unique set of needs, and I strongly believe that we should enable parents to seek the best educational opportunities for their children, which should include the flexibility to enroll at a school that allows them to reach their full potential.
However, the Education Freedom Act was never truly about “school choice,” and I’m offended that the BOE chair cited “political framing” to vilify those who came out against this legislation. Betsy cited an example in her letter of “a mom of a child with dyslexia struggling to find a school that meets her child’s unique needs.”
The reality is that this legislation does not guarantee a place for that student in any private school setting in Tennessee. Unlike the public schools, private schools have the incredible luxury of being able to deny enrollment to any child for any reason.
These schools routinely deny students with learning disabilities — and in many cases, the public schools are their only reasonable alternative.
The same can also be said for the low-income family with the bullied child or for the single mother, two other examples that Betsy cited in her letter.
We reside in a “right to work” state, and Tennessee private schools follow that same mantra when it comes to their admissions. They are allowed to operate as they see fit, which allows them to be incredibly selective.
As a result, Tennessee public schools increasingly exist to serve those who have been rejected by these private institutions.
Since the Education Freedom Act involves re-purposing a significant amount of public funding for school vouchers, its framework should, at the very least, challenge the private schools to do three things — prioritize lower-income families, provide accommodations for students with any learning disability and increase enrollment.
If enrollments remain stagnant, these vouchers will simply act like coupons for parents who already have their children enrolled in private school, making it easier for those schools to justify tuition increases in the long term, making it increasingly difficult for lower-income families to afford a private school education.
A little bit of Internet research shows that other states that have implemented similar voucher programs have ultimately led to this disturbing result.
So Betsy, here’s the $64,000 question: if private schools are just going to remain status quo, how can the Education Freedom Act actually help that dyslexic student, that lower-income bullied student or that single mom you passionately wrote about?
~ Vincent “Tom” Young, Farragut
