Puerto Rico scores for educational freedom
It’s been almost a year since Hurricane Maria left a path of destruction in its wake. Devastation continues to grip much of Puerto Rico, and with the mass exodus of people to the states, the island’s education system has had a particularly tough time recovering.
But just in time for the start of the new school year, families in Puerto Rico received some good news.
The Puerto Rican Supreme Court tossed out a lawsuit that sought to block a new law that increases educational options for Puerto Rican families. Thanks to the ruling, students will now be able to take advantage of a number of new initiatives that will give them more freedom to find the best educational option for them.
The new law creates “alianza” schools, which are like charter schools, as well as a “free school” selection program, which lets parents use education scholarships to send their children to a private school. Both options could be made even better by lifting the restrictions that limit participation and opening them up to all students.
Expanding choice makes sense. As any parent will tell you, every child is different. What works for one student may not work for another. But in Puerto Rico’s case, the court’s decision also provides an important lifeline for families looking for an alternative to a traditional publicschool system that is failing to equip many students with a quality education. The percentage of Puerto Rico’s eighthgraders who performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level was rounded to 0 percent in 2017. This percentage was not significantly different from that in 2011.
Fortunately, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court said the proposal to expand educational freedom on the island is constitutional because it supports needy families, not schools, and any benefit to private schools under the program is merely incidental.”
For parents like Jessica Ñeco, the decision was a cause for celebration. “Justice has been done for my daughter and for the children of Puerto Rico,” Ñeco said after the ruling.
Florida families know this feeling.
For more than two decades, families in the Sunshine State have been reaping the benefits that come with increased educational options.
Like Puerto Rico, Florida was once faring poorly in national education assessments. In 1998, Florida fourthgraders ranked near the bottom in reading achievement exams. But over time, lawmakers in Tallahassee began removing barriers to educational opportunity. One of the biggest changes was expanding the number of charter schools, which operate with greater autonomy and are able to innovate in ways that traditional public schools cannot.
The results have been nothing short of astounding. Research has shown that charter school students are outperforming their public-school peers academically.
This helps explain why Florida’s charter school enrollment has exploded in recent years. In 2016-2017, more than 283,000 students attended 654 charter schools in 46 school districts, according to the Florida Department of Education. Quite the jump when there were only 100 charter schools operating in the state in 1999.
Beyond charter schools, Florida has created and expanded other educational options, including enacting the McKay and Gardiner scholarship programs, providing thousands of Florida students with special needs the chance to attend private schools.
Educational opportunity has been good for Florida. Once a national laughingstock in education circles, Florida students are now leading the pack, as evidenced by the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress Report Card.
What does this all mean for the people of Puerto Rico?
The road paved with increased educational freedom has been well-traveled and well-tested by the people of Florida. Following the high court’s ruling, Puerto Rico has every reason to believe it is on the right road.