School Choice Facts

Debunking the myths, lies, and falsehoods spread by School Choice opponents with facts and data

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

This is the perfect example of the games school choice opponents play.

She claims constitutional concerns about EdChoice and then references $3B spend.

But the $3B (rounded up to the nearest billion btw) includes non-EdChoice scholarships for Autism, Special Needs, and Cleveland students which have been found constitutional by the Ohio and US Supreme Court. She's playing the games she accuses us of.

These are the games that prompted the creation of this account in the first place.

We bring facts and our calculations are simple and straightforward. Total scholarship dollars and total scholarship students as a percent of total taxpayer spend and total Ohio students.

Because opponents play games, they assume everyone does. And they deny the simple, straightforward math when they are faced with it.

We believe the math is simple, the truth is straightforward, and they tell a story school choice proponents should be proud of.

We will continue to tell that story.

[Jessica E. Miranda @JessicaEMiranda]

Funny how “school-choice” advocates always switch the denominator. This is misleading AT BEST, but since you are in fact, a propaganda machine, I’ll say it’s misleading ON PURPOSE to try and make your fleecing of taxpayer dollars 💸 more palatable.

The question isn’t whether vouchers are 4% of education spending.

The question is why Ohio can spend over $3 billion expanding vouchers while still refusing to fully implement the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan that was designed to address the unconstitutional overreliance on local property taxes?

One program is optional. Following the Ohio Constitution is NOT.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

@elton2boxers @Hryyb63289 @JessicaEMiranda 100%. The anti-choice crowd can't get their heads around the fact that different schools specialize in different types of students. The goal is to find a school that has the best match, not a cookie cutter generalist that tries to do everything.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

@elton2boxers reminds us there are students behind the cuts the anti-choices want to make.

Here’s the students @JessicaEMiranda wants to take $ from to send more to wealthy suburban districts who won’t let these kids in their schools.

$500M from kids with autism and special needs
$100M from inner city Cleveland kids
$500M from kids previously forced to attend other bottom quartile schools
$250M from still more kids qualifying for free/reduced lunches
$250M from still more kids qualifying for ACA subsidies

[Sharlotte @elton2boxers]

@JessicaEMiranda The $ is only half the story. $ is for students. So include enrollment.
What was voucher growth related to students using them? Did public schools also receive more $ over that time? Was it related to student enrollment growth?

Vouchers are growing bc parents love school choice

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

Those who know public schools the best are the ones who start the most private schools.

[Tommy Schultz 🇺🇸 @Tommy_USA]

Most people don't know this:

The most likely person to start a new private school is a former public school teacher.

The unions + The System deter them all from flourishing in their former careers.

Excellent new report form @Kerry_edu

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

“And who the hell are you to determine that conclusion of underperformance?”

In case there was any doubt

You’re too dumb to assess school performance & wasteful spending. Only the anti-choicers know what’s best for your child.

“Public money BELONGS to public schools,” not you!

[Jessica E. Miranda @JessicaEMiranda]

No, that’s not the problem. And who the hell are you to determine that conclusion of underperformance?!

Don’t serve their children well? Wow, what a shameful and disrespectful thing to say.

Competition? HA! It isn’t even a level playing field. Where are their scores? Where are their teacher/admin salaries? Where are their qualifications/certifications? Does the public get to scrutinize and audit their spending? Do they transport the students? Do they have sports/extracurriculars?

You cannot drain something for so long, while placing tons of obstacles in its way, and say it’s their own fault, and that they should just “do better”.

That is delusional. That expectation is unrealistic, Public Schools have been responding to this constant moving of the goal posts, while taking all the scrutiny bc private/charters have no objectives to answer for. Even though they receive Public Taxpayer dollars.

I’ve identified the problem SEVERAL times now. The OVER-RELIANCE on local property taxes.

If you refuse to read the Constitution that’s your problem.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

@VouchersHurtUs Ohio public school enrollment is down over 100,000 since Covid.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

While theoretically possible, inspecting the underlying data shows this is unlikely.

The number of test participants grew year-over-year, making it unlikely scores were significantly impacted by students who left the program, either by their choice or by a school's.

This raises the possibility that the increases were driven by better-than-average new participants joining the program instead of improvements from the existing students.

Again, inspection of the underlying data shows this is unlikely. Test scores of first year participants were generally below those of students who were already in the program. This changed when universal school choice was implemented and first year scores were suddenly significantly higher than those already in the program. For this reason, we excluded those scores from the 23/24 and 24/25 averages.

We believe additional insight into students who leave the program before 8th grade or HS graduation would be valuable and encourage lawmakers to make this data available.

Studies confirm disruptive behavior impacts student learning and test scores. Although there is no data to confirm, we believe it is reasonable to believe classroom behavior could account for some score differences seen in the chart, especially at the individual school level.

We believe public schools are sometimes hampered by over-regulation and other restrictions. There is often a push to apply the same constraints on private schools so they are treated the same. We believe public schools would benefit from less constraints. More flexibility in handling behavioral problems is one such area.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

We provided our source & methodology so anyone can provide refinements or corrections, including you.

We agree the Ohio data mirrors the National trend, although our analysis excludes any growth from 2000-2009.

We do not understand your initial reservations with the National numbers, as this trend was well underway during your tenure in the state legislature. Please suggest any modifications to our approach or additional sources you believe are warranted.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

@JessicaEMiranda @elton2boxers Ask and ye shall receive...

Note this only goes back to 2010 instead of 2000 due to data constraints in Ohio.

Teacher = any role w/ "teach" in description
Principal = any role w/ "principal"
All Other = All other positions

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

How many low income families opt out of school choice scholarships because of transportation concerns?

We don’t know. We don’t have the data.

It’s time to start collecting it.

[Fordham Institute OH @OhioGadfly]

.@a_churchill22 digs into the findings from the Ohio Pupil Transportation Workgroup. Not perfect, but they do include recommendations that would help curtail abuse of the “impractical to transport” designation, which has long been the bane of families opting for a non-district school choice.

https://t.co/CTTTEvsVGw

[Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist @DeAngelisCorey]

BREAKING: Most of the sponsors of the bill to repeal President Trump's school choice program went to private school or sent their kids to private school.

At least 19 of the 34 sponsors are school choice hypocrites.

They're all Democrats.

My latest at the Washington Post:

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

"I have a solution to the complex and nuanced issues facing policing... competition and citizen choice.

Break the monopoly created by government-owned police stations and allow alternative/private police forces to compete"

Benjamin Helton, 4/20/22, back when he liked choice

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

It wasn't long ago that Helton argued Ohio's school choice program was working so well it should be used as a model for police reform.

What changed?

[Columbus Dispatch @DispatchAlerts]

Opinion: A closer look reveals cracks in the case for school vouchers | Opinion https://t.co/mIRH65yXdM

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

They lie and obfuscate because the simple facts are on our side.

Helton's "cracks" rely on an outdated test score study from Louisiana instead of looking at actual data from Ohio.

[Columbus Dispatch @DispatchAlerts]

Opinion: A closer look reveals cracks in the case for school vouchers | Opinion https://t.co/mIRH65yXdM

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

They lie because they have to

Helton never questions the main finding:
- EdChoice students were 1.3x more likely to attend and 1.6x more likely to graduate college than their peers

Instead he picks at a sub-findings the authors agree lack enough data for definitive conclusions

[Columbus Dispatch @DispatchAlerts]

Opinion: A closer look reveals cracks in the case for school vouchers | Opinion https://t.co/mIRH65yXdM

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

There is zero evidence private schools illegally discriminate on race or ethnicity. But that doesn't stop school choice opponents from accusing them of doing so.

If @AnitaSomaniMD shares the unsubstantiated concerns voiced by her supporters, she should advocate for getting insights into why students do not continue through to enrollment in school choice programs. Maybe the data might uncover illegal activity and prove them right.

But in reality, it would prove them wrong and create insights that would enable the program to grow even further.

And that's why she won't.

[Brian Jodice @afcpress]

School choice changes lives.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

How many EdChoice apps are abandoned because a low-income family finds the application or income validation process too confusing?

Don't know. But w/ data we could. And then simplify it.

@MikeOdioso should focus here instead of on things that further complicate the process.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

@edchoice 25% of Ohio’s school choice $ goes to students with autism or special needs.

[School Choice Facts @SchoolChoicePro]

Is the EdChoice 200% FPL limit for full tuition coverage right? Or do deserving students miss out because they can't afford to pay the difference?

Don't know, but w/ better data we could.

@AnitaSomaniMD would help low-income Ohioans by focusing here instead of on millionaires.