LAS VEGAS – Nevada is among the worst states in the nation in terms of student academic performance, and part of the blame can be tied to the influence of the state’s teachers unions.

In an editorial for the Las Vegas Sun, Erik Telford, an official with the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, explained how school choice options could help Nevada raise its academic standing and save money  at the same time.

Specifically, a private school voucher system like those adopted by numerous other states could radically change how students in Nevada are educated by taking the decision-making away from politicians and bureaucrats and giving the power to parents, Telford opined.

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“Reforms focusing on school choice, which have been broadly embraced by states such as Indiana and Louisiana, would turn these tables and put parents back in the driver’s seat. The tax money that each family pays into the school system would be returned to parents in the form of a scholarship that could be used at any accredited Nevada school – not simply the one that is closest geographically,” Telford wrote in the Sun.

“Many families would likely use the scholarship to send their children to the local public school. Others may choose a public school in another town; a charter, private or parochial school; or even a virtual classroom,” he wrote. “But every family would be able to use this scholarship to pick the best place for their child to grow and learn.”

There would be financial benefits for the state, as well, according to Telford.

“With states spending about a quarter of their budgets on K-12 education, school choice can also help to alleviate deficits. The per-student cost of education is frequently higher at public schools than private schools, so when parents use their tax credit to send their child to a private school, the government saves thousands of dollars,” Telford explained in the Sun.

Despite widespread public support for school choice reforms, Nevada politicians have avoided the issue, according to Telford.  Gov. Mark Sandoval has pushed for giving parents more choices, “but the legislature refused to even consider his bill,” Telford wrote.

There’s no doubt the resistance is the result of strong political lobbying by the one of the state’s most powerful special interests – the Nevada State Education Association. The teachers union hates school choice because it decreases the demand for unionized teachers, since many non-government schools are not unionized.

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So the Nevada unions have managed to maintain their monopoly while students suffer from a lack of quality educational options.

“When families in failing school districts are given priority for these tax credits, parents who can’t afford private school tuition are thrown a lifeline. And by giving every Nevada child the opportunity to attend a properly performing school, we would open up a world of possibility to those children currently trapped in overcrowded, underfunded schools,” he wrote.

Shouldn’t that be the bottom line?