Whenever I use Medicare, the government pays a health provider of my choice even if the provider is not operated by the government. The same goes for Medicaid, which uses public funds to pay for the care of 15 million Californians. Likewise, anyone obtaining premium support through Covered California gets to choose among insurance providers. In stark contrast, parents in California are generally limited to government-operated providers of education services for their children. In a few cases parents can choose a non-government provider but those are legally limited in supply. Many California families suffer as a result. Among other reasons that’s because government-operated schools in CA too often protect underperforming employees at the expense of pupils and divert dollars to retired employees at the expense of classrooms and current employees.
Parents should be able to choose among education providers just as they can choose among health providers. While the legislature works to improve service at government-operated schools, it should also allow more providers of education services.
