At a town-hall debate in Milwaukee, Donald Trump told moderator Anderson Cooper that the federal government’s top three functions are security, health care, and education. When Cooper reminded Trump that he had previously been against the federal government’s involvement in education, Trump stammered, “The concept of the country is the concept that we have to have education within the country, and we have to get rid of Common Core and it should be brought to the state level.”
“While he may sound conventional on the stump, Senator Cruz has been one of the most innovative education legislators on Capitol Hill.”
A none-too-interested novice to conservatism, Trump has made more than his fair share of poor attempts to communicate ideas he doesn’t understand. But in this case he effectively, if inarticulately, highlighted the conservative conundrum in K–12 education: We say that it’s very important — and that the federal government should do less about it.
Ted Cruz expressed the standard conservative position more fluently, calling for abolishing the Department of Education and block-granting education funds. For a swing voter who just wants to ensure that kids get a fair shot in life, it’s a decidedly negative message.
But while he may sound conventional on the stump, Senator Cruz has been one of the most innovative education legislators on Capitol Hill. He has introduced two bold bills, one to allow Title I federal funds to follow low-income students to private schools, and one to create a universal education savings account (ESA) program in Washington, D.C. A policy entrepreneur could help lead conservatives out of their K–12 conundrum by connecting these dots and calling for portability of Title I funds to state ESA programs.
School choice has been around for a quarter-century, but ESAs are a relatively new frontier. Until now, school choice has largely been about helping parents shift their kid from school A to school B. ESAs give families direct control over the public funds for their child’s education, allowing parents to customize their child’s education by stitching together traditional schools and different education providers, including tutors, therapists, and online and blended models. Two years ago, there was only one ESA program in America, but this fall an estimated 1 million children will be eligible for ESAs in five states.
Most ESA programs are designed to serve students with disabilities and special needs...
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This piece originally appeared in National Review Online