On September 30, 2009, several Libertarian Party interns went to the "Save
School Choice Rally" at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The rally
was organized to show support for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship
Program, a voucher program for residents of the District of Columbia. If
continued, the program would give parents a scholarship for their
children, allowing them to remove their children from the D.C. public
school system and send them to a school of their choice. However, in
signing the Omnibus Appropriations Act, President Obama will effectively
kill this program.
(Photographed by intern James Harrison)
Some Libertarians support taxpayer-funded vouchers as a way to provide
competition, improve quality, reduce the overall taxpayer burden for
education, and reduce the power of the public-sector education
establishment. Other Libertarians oppose vouchers and bring up the concern
that taxpayer-funded vouchers may allow the government to gain control
over private schools. They also point out that costs at private colleges
and universities continue rising, probably largely due to
government-subsidized student loans and scholarships.
The Libertarian Party’s Platform on education is below. Vouchers are not
specifically mentioned.
Platform Plank 2.8: Education
Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free
market, achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity
of choice. Schools should be managed locally to achieve greater
accountability and parental involvement. Recognizing that the
education of children is inextricably linked to moral values, we would
return authority to parents to determine the education of their
children, without interference from government. In particular, parents
should have control of and responsibility for all funds expended for
their children’s education.
While the Libertarian Party stands for smaller government, Libertarians do
not always agree on which policies actually lead to less government and
more freedom. In any case, whether you support or oppose vouchers, I
think it’s good to show up to events that liberty-minded people might
attend, and to use those opportunities to make friends, promote the
Libertarian Party, and possibly recruit new Libertarians.
