Vouchers offer education options

I was astonished by the arguments laid out by Jeanetta Williams in the April 21 edition against the Carson Smith bill. I can understand if someone supports or opposes a bill on its ideological merits. But to support the concept and oppose the bill because the ethnic minority communities are not directly benefited by this bill is the wrong approach. If the NAACP believes that there is a benefit from voucher programs, then wouldn't the chance of this type of program being expanded be greater if they worked to support this bill and other similar initiatives to give these opportunities to all individuals, especially those of lower income?

We should welcome efforts to show that vouchers or tuition tax credits work, that they provide educational options to those that otherwise could not afford them and that together with charter schools complement the educational system in Utah. Furthermore, it is ludicrous to imply that if you support vouchers you are against public education. It appears that there are individuals and associations that want to polarize this issue, to make parents believe that these two cannot co-exist. They want you to believe that if you agree with a parent's right to educational choice, you then oppose public education.

I disagree.

I personally have "chosen" to put my daughter in a public school. She has a teacher that does a wonderful job. Her task is helped by the fact that she only has 21 children in her class, none of whom are English as a Second Language students. There is a high percentage of parental involvement in her school. The likelihood of my daughter obtaining a solid education in this environment is much higher than in a school that may have 36-38 students per class and where a larger proportion are ESL students. If a parent feels that a charter school or private school may better meet the needs of their child, why should that parent not be allowed the choice?

The Carson Smith bill is a very limited program to prove that school choice does work. Maybe this is the reason why opponents resist giving it a chance.

Although I agree that discrimination still exists at times, I am concerned when ethnic minorities are too quick to use discrimination as a reason to oppose something that doesn't benefit our specific community. This bill does not "show approval for discrimination." On the contrary, it is a compassionate way to help individuals with a disability. Nor do I agree that having separate educational facilities for special needs individuals is "inherently unequal." Rather than reacting with a "if not me, no one" attitude, we should be happy that at least one group will be able to benefit from this bill and then work so that all may have the same opportunities.

In this year when we all celebrate the 50th anniversary of the landmark ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education, we should be careful not to use this case in ways that may diminish further opportunities for our community. Especially when according to nationwide polls, African Americans, Hispanics and individuals of low income are the groups that most support educational choice.

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Marco Diaz is a board member of Latinos for School Choice.