School choice is a value-based stance
Not a left / right issue
The recent Supreme Court decision, Carson v. Makin, is considered a win for school choice advocates. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the Court ruled "that religious schools can’t be excluded from a Maine program that pays private-school tuition for students in areas that lack public schools." Essentially, they ruled that state voucher programs, which give parents access to the per pupil state funds normally dedicated to their local public school to use at a private institution, cannot exclude religious private schools.
How this ruling was covered by news and opinion outlets predictably depended on their political leanings. If the outlet leans left, they were outraged. If the outlet leans right, they were celebratory. Here are just a few examples:
Slate Magazine: "Carson v. Makin: The Supreme Court forces states to fund private religious education"
National Review: "Court's excellent free-exercise ruling in Carson v. Makin"
Vox: "The Supreme Court rips a hole in the wall separating church and state in Carson v. Makin"
New York Times: "Supreme Court rejects Maine's ban on aid to religious schools"
City Journal: "Carson v. Makin is a victory for religious liberty"
But the extent to which one supports school choice, such as charter schools and voucher programs, largely depends on one's values and how they understand the purpose of schooling—more so than one's political affiliation. In cities like Los Angeles, for example, Democrats are divided in their support for charters schools—it's not a left / right issue.
Certainly, some school choice advocacy (including proponents of homeschooling) loath teachers unions and would love to see publicly-administered schools abolished, but most are just genuinely concerned about the quality of education that children receive—if traditional public schools are not providing it, other options need to be explored. Personally, I have always reserved a bit of skepticism, not so much for the existence of charter schools, but for who decides to open them: Are they genuine grassroots efforts, or are organizations swooping in telling the community they need a charter school? But as a former public school teacher who worked in schools struggling with violence and always teetering on the brink of failure (according to state metrics), I understand why parents might want another option.
Conducting research for my PhD dissertation further shed light on what drives opposition to and support for school choice. I was interested in how nonprofit organizations utilized evidence to advocate for or against charter school policies, and a theme that kept emerging was how the values of the individual and organization—related to schooling—largely determined whether they used evidence that supported charter schools (and the ability to choose a school outside of the traditional public school system in general) or opposed them.
If one desires an egalitarian society, they are less likely to support school choice. If one believes that schooling is a means for individual advancement in society, they are more likely to support school choice. If one believes that schooling ought to produce greater equality and social cohesion in society, they are less likely to support school choice. If one believes that parents are largely responsible for their child's education, they are more likely to support school choice. If one believes that the education of the young is a collective effort, they are less likely to support school choice. These are just a handful of examples, but they provide a general understanding of the differences in worldviews surrounding school choice. And certainly, someone can both support school choice and greater equality, but they might prioritize one over the other or view school choice measures like charter schools as a means to greater equality.Â
Moral foundations theory also helps to understand the values that underlie why one might advocate for a public school system open to all and why one might advocate for educational options within and outside of a public school system, while both fighting for high-quality education. The theory proposes that "several innate and universally available psychological systems are the foundations of 'intuitive ethics,'" and, according to Jonathan Haidt’s book the Righteous Mind, has five foundations:
Care/harm "makes us sensitive to signs of suffering and need; it makes us despise cruelty and want to care for those who are suffering."
Fairness/cheating "makes us sensitive to indications that another person is likely to be a good (or bad) partner for collaboration and reciprocal altruism," and "makes us want to shun or punish cheaters."
Loyalty/betrayal "makes us sensitive to signs that another person is (or is not) a team player," and "makes us trust and reward such people ... and want to hurt, ostracize, or even kill those who betray us or our group."
Authority/subversion "makes us sensitive to signs of rank or status, and to signs that other people are (or are not) behaving properly, given their position."
Sanctity/degradation "includes the behavioral immune system, which makes us wary of a diverse array of symbolic objects and threats," and "makes it possible for people to invest objects with irrational and extreme values—both positive and negative—which are important for binding groups together."
Since the publication of the Righteous Mind, another foundation has emerged:
Liberty/oppression relates to the "feelings of reactance and resentment people feel toward those who dominate them and restrict their liberty," and is often in "tension with those of the authority foundation."
The care and fairness foundations are largely held by those who oppose school choice. They view school as a place that cares for children and believe that for children to have a fair shot at living well in society, they need to be provided with an education that's on an equal playing field with their peers. If parents can choose a school outside of the publicly provided system, they may be better positioned to achieve than their peers inside of the traditional public system, which is viewed as unfair. The liberty foundation is largely embraced by those who support school choice. They hold parental rights in high esteem and an authority that places limits on parents' ability to choose a school for their child is restricting those rights.
Although the moral foundations have been tied to political ideologies, they also cut across ideologies. Those on the political left and right worry about oppression and the stripping of individual liberty, for example. To understand why one does or does not support school choice, you must first understand their values. Making school choice a left / right issues is to misunderstand individual worldviews and motivations.