One hundred sixty years ago America fought over slavery. Sixty years ago, America fought over black voter suppression. Today America is fighting over black education suppression. As in every war, there is a turning point, and 2020 will prove to be the turning point in this current fight as school choice won historic battles this summer.
Thomas Sowell, the famous African-American economist/professor, is leading the fight today and his new book, “Charter Schools and Their Enemies” (2020), shines the bright light on those who run the traditional public schools who, along with the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, have declared war with anti-charter school laws passed or pending all across America. Mr. Sowell presents unique statistics that show charter school students achieving proficiency on educational tests at a rate several times the rate of public schools in the same neighborhoods.
Sowell states that:
— “Schools exist for the education of children, not to provide iron-clad jobs for teachers, billions of dollars in union dues for teachers unions, monopolies for educational bureaucracies or a captive audience for indoctrinators.”
— “There are a million students on charter school waiting lists, while local district officials prevent charter schools from acquiring vacant school buildings in which to educate them.”
Two important 2020 Supreme Court decisions will also have a huge impact on religious schools and school choice.
(1) Education Employment — Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berry ruled that “Religious education and formation of students is the reason for the existence of most religious schools — the selection and supervision of the teachers upon whom the schools rely to do this work lie at the core of their mission — and government cannot interfere with what or how they teach.”
(2) Education Aid — Espinoza v. Montana ruled that “Once a State decides to subsidize private education, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”
Let us be clear — school choice is only a battle; the War is over the restoration of the Family Unit and God. What has happened over the last 55 years with welfare laws that promoted the decimation of the disadvantaged family unit, along with the removal of God from our schools, has been catastrophic for the nation. How do we fix this if Washington won’t?
Perhaps Sowell gives us the first step; “Children who have not received at home the educational, behavioral or other foundations, must get those things from schools. The stakes are huge — not only for disadvantaged children whose education can be their one clear chance for a better life, but also for a whole society that needs productive members. No vested interests of adults — whether financial, political or ideological— should be allowed to block that.” School choice can restore black education—restoring the black family unit will require another step in November!
Steve Gardes is a certified public accountant (CPA) and certified valuation analyst (CVA) with over 40 years of public accounting experience.
