Thou Shalt Have No Other School System Before Me

In my latest commentary for the Mackinac Center I point out the harm done when state constitutions explicitly enshrine government monopoly school systems instead of leaving the implementation details of education policy to legislatures and the people.

The idea was sparked by this exchange between a Florida Supreme Court justice and the attorney representing voucher opponents in last week's Bush v. Holmes oral arguments:

Unnamed justice: “You would agree, would you not, that whether (voucher schools) have been an overwhelming success or an utter failure, is, really, irrelevant to whether the program is constitutional.”

John West: “Absolutely, your honor. Absolutely.”

Maybe, just maybe, we'd be better off if we decided how to organize our schools based on what actually works, instead of carving one dubious approach into our state constitutions.

Here is the full text of the commentary.