The Rise of School Choice

Since the national adoption of compulsory schooling in the late nineteenth century, state governments have overwhelmingly entrusted themselves with near-monopolistic control over K-12 education. 

In recent months, however, Arizona, West Virginia, Iowa, and Utah have affirmed the primacy of parental sovereignty by introducing education savings accounts (ESAs) that let state money “follow the child” for such expenses as private school tuition, tutoring, or educational materials. Several more states appear primed to pass ESA bills soon. After decades of incremental reform, what prompted this rapid shift?

The notion of shattering the government monopoly over K-12 education is neither new nor radical. Milton Friedman largely pioneered the idea in his 1955 essay “The Role of Government in Education,” in which he argued for the logic of schooling based on voluntary association rather than residential assignment.