The Political Winds May Be Blowing Anti-School Choice Now, but Progressives Will Have to Embrace It Eventually

The Democratic presidential primary is upon us, and it is a highly competitive field. This primary stands out as having a greater variety of candidates compared to recent ones. With this diversity of candidates comes a range of perspectives. It is likely that some of the candidates will face criticism for their views and opinions, including Sen. Cory Booker.

Booker is known for his support of school choice and education reform in general. While this stance is not uncommon among Democrats, Booker has faced criticism for being seen as an ally of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. This makes him a target for those who oppose education reform and prefer traditional methods.

At first glance, it may seem that Booker would fare better by renouncing or avoiding his support for school choice, as other candidates have done with their unpopular beliefs. However, the reality is quite the opposite. Despite the potential challenges his school choice platform may pose in the upcoming debate, Booker is actually on the winning side of this clash. Other Democrats would be wise to embrace school choice because, in less than ten years, it is likely to become the prevailing viewpoint within the party. In many ways, the party is already shifting in that direction.

Long-standing support from Democrats

Despite recent backlash against charter schools in Democratic-led areas like New York and Chicago, the Democratic party has generally been supportive of school choice. Both the Clinton and Obama administrations have backed charter schools, and opposition from teachers unions has been consistent throughout. School choice is one of the few issues that has brought together individuals from different ends of the political spectrum. While attacking school choice may now be politically expedient due to the efforts of traditional public school teachers and various organizations, many progressives have always been in favor of charter schools.

Expansion of school choice

While some states and cities are attempting to limit the number of charter schools or introduce caps, the concept of school choice as a whole continues to spread. The number of charter schools across the nation is increasing, and even states that previously did not allow them are now opening their doors to charters. Several politicians have recently advocated for voucher systems in their states. As both charter schools and voucher policies become more familiar and less intimidating to people, one of the main reasons for opposing school choice, the fear of change, diminishes. Even states like California and New York, where there has been pushback against charters, opened more charter schools than they closed last year.

Success stories from charter school alumni

As charter schools grow in number and reach, the number of individuals benefitting from them also increases. The estimated number of charter school students for the 2017-18 school year was around 3.2 million. When combined with the number of students who have already graduated from charters, a significant base of school choice supporters emerges. Furthermore, these individuals are concentrated in areas that are at the forefront of the charter school debate. California, for example, has approximately 630,000 charter school students. This sizeable group of pro-charter students and parents, not to mention alumni, presents a formidable challenge for California’s anti-charter faction in the future.

Minorities largely support charter schools

Critics often highlight the negative impact they claim school choice has on black and brown students. However, contrary to the complaints of vocal opponents, minorities, as a whole, tend to support charter schools. A poll conducted by Education Next found that only 26 percent of black respondents opposed charter schools, while the figure was slightly higher for Hispanics at 33 percent. Support for tax-credit scholarships and vouchers was even stronger. Interestingly, the largest opposition came from teachers. Thus, despite the NAACP calling for a moratorium on charter schools, the actual people of color they claim to represent do not seem to share this viewpoint. Given that people of color form an indispensable voter base for Democrats, it is difficult to envision a scenario where they do not eventually come to support charter schools.

Federal involvement

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I have devoted eight years of my career to working in a charter school. The families and students in the inner-city neighborhood that my school serves have the option to attend several traditional public schools in the area, some of which may be more conveniently located. However, they actively choose my school and other successful charter schools because they believe that the traditional options are not satisfactory. Despite the negative rhetoric surrounding charter schools in our local community, students are not being forced out of their neighborhood schools; in fact, in many cases, they are fleeing from them. When parents enroll their children in my school, the first question we ask is what led them to choose us. Ideally, we would like to hear them speak of the numerous advantages and achievements of our model. However, to be honest, our school hasn’t always had a stellar reputation over the past eight years. Nevertheless, it has consistently been seen as a better alternative to the mandated options. This is the core essence of school choice. For parents, it is not a matter of policy or philosophy; they do not have the luxury to ponder such things.

It’s not surprising that some politicians waver in their stance on school choice, especially in the lead-up to an election following a year of teacher strikes. However, the reality is that the concept of school choice has already taken hold and educational systems and districts have adapted to it. In many places, it is now an integral part of the education landscape that cannot be eliminated, even if one desired to do so. Therefore, it is highly likely that school choice is here to stay. Everyone acknowledges this, whether they superficially express sympathy for opponents of school choice or not. Once the dust settles from strikes and the election season, progressive individuals will once again embrace the idea of school choice, just as they did in the past.

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Andrew Pillow is a fifth-grade social studies teacher at KIPP Indianapolis, a charter school where he has been teaching since 2011. He is also a former Teach Plus Policy Fellow, with a focus on technology and social issues.

Disclosure: The CEO of , Stephen Cockrell, served as the director of external impact for the KIPP Foundation from 2015 to 2019. He did not participate in the reporting or editing of this story.

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