The definition of public education along with a parent's right to direct the funding of their child’s education were topics of discussion in Douglas County’s Choice Scholarship Pilot Program’s Supreme Court battle.

“‘Public Education’ Should Fund Any Education, Not Just Government-run Schools,” read the headline of an article by Brittany Corona of the Daily Signal.

“The case has brought forth a question that has been at the forefront of state and national debates over school choice: what is the definition of ‘public education,’ anyway?” questioned Corona, a research assistant in Domestic Policy Studies at The Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity at The Heritage Foundation.

According to Corona, school choice separates financing of education from delivery of services. Corona believes that parents should have the ability to direct education funding toward a schooling option that best fits their child.

“Although education choice is spreading rapidly–more than 300,000 children are now benefitting from private school choice options–some states and school districts, like the Douglas County, Colorado, are facing lawsuits over the constitutionality of school choice,” says Corona.

The real essence of Corona’s argument is about parents being empowered to choose options that are right for their children. She believes that grouping public schools under the “Government-run” schools classification is wrong because it eliminates the amount of choices a parent has when deciding where they want their children to attend school.

“The Supreme Court of Colorado has a chance to uphold the first locally established school choice program in the country, but it also has a chance to reaffirm what the U.S. Supreme Court has already upheld: that public education is about educating students, not the physical space in which that education takes place,” says Corona.

The article said, "chances are if a school doesn’t receive funding due it not falling under the category of the “Government-run” public school, parents will stray away from the institute as a viable option for their child, even though it may be the right option."

Read the full story and comment below. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor