Protecting Free Speech in the Leaning Ivory Tower

Protecting Free Speech in the Leaning Ivory Tower

Some things in life are guaranteed: death, taxes, and left-leaning professors in the ivory tower. Proof? The percentage of professors identifying as “far-left” increased from 42 percent in 1990 to 60 percent in 2014, according to UCLA researchers. Another study published last year found that professors who are registered as Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 12 to 1. At Harvard, 84 percent of the faculty’s political contributions went to Democrats. The College Fix reports that the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 17 departments have no professors registered as Republicans—zero.

As featured recently in the AJC, an Iowa lawmaker proposed legislation that would require universities to balance the number of Republican and Democrat-professing professors that schools hire. A bill so narrowly focused on universities’ employment practices leaves room—as well-intentioned legislation often does—for unintended consequences. Based on the polling above, there may not be enough professors on the right of the political isle to fill such a quota.

Lawmakers in Iowa—and Georgia—should consider a more fundamental issue: Protecting free speech on campus, no matter where you place yourself on the ideological spectrum. Disagree with many people in class? Engage in debate and discover the power of ideas and value of persuasion. So far this year, lawmakers in at least four states are considering resolutions or legislation that protects free speech on campus (Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Illinois). The new bills are modeled after Campus Free Speech: A Legislative Proposal by Stanley Kurtz from the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Jim Manley and myself from the Goldwater Institute.

The model legislation takes a comprehensive approach to protecting free expression on public college and university campuses. The bill prevents universities from designating so-called campus “free speech zones,” which actually limit what you can say and where you can say it. The bill allows individuals to speak and act freely on college grounds, as long as they do not interfere with others’ ability to do so. The bill also requires public universities to adopt mission statements in favor of free speech and make sure this material is available to existing and prospective students and faculty. Schools will be required to release an annual report on the condition of free speech on campus.

Colleges should be neutral on the issues and provide space for students and faculty to debate. Once students have left the college bubble, they are destined to encounter people with different opinions. Getting along and working peaceably with—and yes, when the time comes, even amicably disagreeing with—such people is a part of adulthood. No better time to practice these skills than when in college.

Seventy-Five Percent of Republican Primary Voters Cast Ballots Approving Real School Choice

Republicans included a non-binding referendum question in yesterday’s Primary Election ballot asking if voters support school choice, and 75 percent of voters declared their support for the concept of education dollars following the student.

The question was direct, clear, and as comprehensive as limited space would allow:

“Should Georgia empower parents with the right to use the tax dollars allocated for the education of their children, allowing them the freedom to choose among public, private, virtual and home schools?”

While these primary ballot questions are non-binding, they are a very effective way for a party to test support for an issue among their actual primary voters, not the “likely voters” approximated in poll samples.

These primary voters are the voters who will be especially important to those hoping to succeed Governor Nathan Deal in 2018 (here’s looking at you, Casey Cagle!).

Again, seventy-five percent of Republican primary voters said “yes” to school choice at the ballot. This overwhelming level of support for the ballot question is even more interesting when we consider that:

  • More voters voted for school choice than voted in the U.S. Senate race–the race at the very top of the ballot. The question was a “down ballot” question, where there there is usually a significant drop-off of votes from the votes cast at the top of the ticket.
  • The Georgia Association of Educators, the de facto teacher’s union in the state, long feared by politicians, publicly opposed and lobbied against the measure.
  • The question won a majority of support in every one of Georgia’s 159 counties–rural, urban, big, small, wealthy, poor–it didn’t matter. School choice won everywhere.

Will Georgia Republican elected officials start listening to these voters, or continue to ignore them?

In recent years, legislators have been somewhere between skittish and unenthusiastic (to put it kindly) about considering school choice legislation. No less than ten education choice bills were introduced in the last two-year legislative cycle and all but one was killed by leadership and committee chairmen, and none received a vote on the House or Senate floor.

Why? Largely out of a perception that teachers will be against it, Superintendents will be against it, school boards will be against it. But does the education establishment represent those they serve? Apparently not.

Now that the voters have spoken, clearly and specifically, how will legislators respond? Will they listen to the people who elected them? Legislators have the opportunity to make good policy good politics — they can give kids the educational opportunities they need and deserve, while giving primary voters what they support and demand.

How will these state leaders respond to their district voters’ support for real school choice?

  • Lt. Governor (and 2018 Gubernatorial hopeful) Casey Cagle:  Hall County–75%
  • Speaker David Ralston:  Fannin County–76%, Gilmer County–74%
  • Rep. Brooks Coleman, Chairman of House Education Committee:  Gwinnett County–77%
  • Same goes for Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer, also of Gwinnett
  • Senator Lindsey Tippins, Chairman of Senate Education Committee:  Cobb County–72%
  • Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert: Clarke County–74%

2017 could be a big year for education. The Governor plans to move forward with plans to update the funding formula, providing more resources and flexibility to school districts. Will the Governor and leaders of the legislature listen to the people and include school choice in those reforms? If not, if they once again cower in fear of the education establishment and teachers’ unions, they may just have their base to answer to.

Criminal Justice Reforms: Increasing Access to Work

On April 27th, Governor Deal signed into law the most recent round of criminal justice reforms in Georgia. Senate Bill 367 enacts many of the recommendations of the state’s Council on Criminal Justice Reform.

Among the reforms are a number that will improve the ability of returning citizens to obtain employment, a key to reducing recidivism, including:

– Allowing first-time offenders to meaningfully shield their criminal record under the state’s First Offender Act,

– Providing greater access to occupational licensing, provided that the offense was not reasonably related to the license being sought,

– Reinstating driver’s licenses for those convicted of drug-related offenses that did not involve a motor vehicle,

– Expanding funding for Parental Accountability Courts that are problem-solving courts designed to reduce incarceration and constructively encourage parents to support their children. See our 2015 report on PACs here.

GCO is pleased that the reforms included recommendations we first made in 2013.

The Odds are Not in Georgia’s Favor

In March of 2015 state Rep. Ron Stephens (R- Savannah) introduced legislation that would allow six casinos into Georgia’s borders. While the legislation did not gain traction in the 2015 session, there is a renewed and aggressive effort by casino interests to bring gambling to Georgia through a ballot – by changing the Georgia State Constitution, which currently bars nearly all gambling.

Some believe that by having its own casinos Georgia will recover money currently going out of state. They also project that 3,500 jobs will be created and significant new revenue will be provided for the HOPE scholarship. At face value, this seems like a win-win for Georgia; however, the economic costs that accompany gambling will do more harm than the new jobs and HOPE funding will do good.

Gambling addictions create problems for individuals, their families and, by extension, society at large. Many people in Georgia are already being affected by the economic and social challenges that are brought on with gambling. With several casinos within driving distance, many have chosen to go out of state to gamble with their money. Some have returned to Georgia with a gambling addiction. According to the Georgia Council on Problem Gambling, “The hidden social and economic costs of gambling addiction in Georgia is $1,200 annually per gambler, while problem gambling costs the state $715 per gambler. Total costs: over $357 million annually.” This is the price tag on gambling already plaguing the state and that’s before Georgia even has its own casinos.

Bankruptcy is common among gambling addicts, with a national average of 20-30 percent of addicts filing for bankruptcy. According to the National Bankruptcy Research Center in July of 2013, Georgia had the second highest amount of people filing for bankruptcy. By allowing casinos to come into the state, more people will fall victim to a gambling addiction, which will increase their odds of filing for bankruptcy. The Georgia Council on Problem Gambling found that each bankruptcy filing costs creditors an average $39,000.

The impact to families of problem gambling can be catastrophic. Approximately 90 percent of pathological gamblers use family savings to continue their addiction. The Georgia Council on Problem Gambling found “over 60 percent of pathological gamblers reported borrowing money from friends/relatives to avoid credit problems; while 20 percent borrowed money from loan sharks.” Money problems are notorious for adding stress to families; gambling addiction magnifies and exacerbates this source of conflict in families. Not surprising, then, is the fact that families face a greater risk of suffering from a divorce when one of the spouses has a gambling addiction. While non-gamblers have a divorce rate of 18.2 percent, the divorce rate for pathological gamblers is a staggering 53.5 percent.

While the promises of jobs and HOPE scholarship funding sound appealing, the costs of bringing casinos to Georgia – in terms of the human suffering they will cause – far outweigh any potential benefit they will have.

GA Needs to Move from School Choice to Educational Choice

Trumpeter

Last Friday I had the opportunity to address a subcommittee of the Governor’s Education Reform Commission.  This particular subcommittee is tasked with making recommendations on how best to expand educational options in Georgia, or, more plainly, addressing the question,

“What sort of choices should parents have in how their children are educated?”

I was able to tell the subcommittee how I (along with others) lobbied back in 2007 for the passage of the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program, our state’s first state-funded private school choice program.  We came back in 2008 and lobbied for the creation of the Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which allows individual and corporate donors to receive a tax credit for donations made to non-profits who give scholarships to kids leaving public schools for private options.

Because of these two programs, more than 16,000 students in Georgia now attend the private school their parents chose for them.  Many of these children and their families share stories of lives changed because of the opportunities these scholarships provided.  Kids that were struggling in the public school they were zoned for are now thriving in an environment chosen by their parents that better meets their individual needs.

But while 16,000 students have found hope in the opportunity afforded by choice, thousands more languish behind because they are either not eligible for a state-funded scholarship or because the tax credit program is capped, limiting the number of students who can participate.

The 2007/2008 legislative session was an exciting time.  Georgia suddenly popped onto the national education choice scene in a big way.  We may not have been a leader back then, but at least we were finally on the team.

But as I shared with the subcommittee, we haven’t done much since.  As a state we had our moment on the national stage, but it was a bit of a flash and then a fizzle.*

We’ve watched year after year as other states create new educational choice programs or expand existing ones.  These states are whizzing right past us to the top of the pack, leaving us in an all-too-familiar place when it comes to education: hanging near the back.

Scott Jensen, a colleague of mine in the school choice arena who serves as the Senior Policy Advisor for the American Federation for Children, explained to the committee, “You (Georgia) have the slowest growth rate of any program in the country. Because there is none.”

I’ve been through seven legislative sessions since the creating of our programs, advocating each time for “more” – more choices for families to meet the specific needs of their kids because those kids’ futures depend on them getting a good education.

It’s not as though offering educational options to families is some sort of competition between GA and other states. But it is true that our kids are competing, and not just with other states – they are competing in a global marketplace.

I bet if we allow ourselves a moment of honesty, most of us could agree on a couple of things:

1. Our kids deserve a 21st century education that actually prepares them for college, a career, and life.

2. Every child is different and has unique learning needs.

The great news is, in the 21st century, there are so many tools that previous generations of students, teachers, and parents just didn’t have at their disposal:  digital classes and programs, special schools to address specific learning challenges, schools with a focus on the arts, schools with a focus on science and technology, innovative home study programs, etc.

This is actually why I’m not sure the phrase “school choice” really covers the gamut of options anymore.  Often, the choices that make the most sense for a family aren’t really schools in the traditional sense.  Rather, they are programs, services, therapies or other options that go well beyond the school walls.

With such a diversity of options on the market, what keeps families stuck in the same old school, or the same old rut?  It’s usually one of two things:

1. State policy that prevents them from choosing a different educational path.

2. A lack of resources to afford the existing options or move to a different area of town with better educational offerings.

So, what can we do about these challenges?  At Georgia Center for Opportunity, we are all about breaking down barriers to opportunity.  Together, we can work to:

1. Change state policy to allow families more flexibility with regard to educational options, prioritizing the specific needs of a child over arbitrary school district boundaries.

2. Remove some of the financial obstacles by allowing families to use the money the state designated to educate their child for another school or program of their choice that better meets their child’s needs.

I am weary but hopeful that 2016 will be the end of the lack of legislative action to address the need for more educational options.  I hope that the Governor’s Education Reform Commission makes thoughtful but bold recommendations to expand educational choice in Georgia.  I hope the Governor and the legislature take those ideas and turn them into reality for our families.  I hope, because for far too many kids, a way out, a way forward, or a new way of doing things is their only hope to receive the best education they can get.

Georgia needs to get back in the game, step up to the plate, and make sure we are doing all we can to set our students up for a WIN in this game of life.

 

*(Actually, we’ve done a lot of good in providing additional public school choices through charter schools, and we’ve had some exciting public school reforms, but here I am focused on what we do for families who need an option outside of the public system in which they are zoned).