What is the proper role of government in public education reform?

I read an interesting Op-Ed about education in today’s Washington Post, in which the author wrote the following: “The proper role of government is to ensure the provision of essential services, not always to provide those services itself.”

Leaving aside the author’s particular perspective on K-12 education reform, I’m curious: How many people out there agree or disagree with this general statement as it pertains to education reform? Is the “provision of essential services” a proper understanding of the proper purview of government — one in which a widening circle of choice could in theory not just be the privatization of public education, but moreso a reframing of how government can help support the highest number of high-quality public educational options? Or is the proper purview of government always to provide those services itself — especially when the services in question pertain to the education of our nation’s young people?

One thought on “What is the proper role of government in public education reform?”

  • Government does have the responsibility of providing education for any all young people in the country. The education should be as unbiased as possible, and should provide the broader foundational skills of learning and interpreting and experimenting.

    I did not read the article but from the quote you provided, it seems as though the author believes that the government’s role is to ensure that private entities provide education? I tremble at the thought of furthering the privatizing of public education.

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