Education 

American education is in a state of crisis.  

Every year, millions of children pass through America’s schools without receiving a quality education that prepares them to succeed in life, to compete in the increasingly competitive global economy, and to maintain the blessings and responsibilities of a free society. Among African American and Hispanic students, for example, only 56 and 52 percent of students graduate from high school. This widespread failure imposes unquantifiable costs on individual lives and our communities. As a country, it imperils our national security. For years, policymakers have sought to improve American schools by increasing government control. But decades of increased spending and increased federal control have yielded little improvement in student performance.

The Heritage Foundation believes that every child in America should have an opportunity to receive a high-quality education. An average student entering kindergarten today will have more than $100,000 spent on his or her behalf by taxpayers before finishing high school. We believe that families should have greater control over this investment: specifically, the power to choose a safe and effective school for their child. Giving families this power will encourage innovation and improvement that American education needs for the twenty-first century. For these reasons, we support policies that move educational control out of Washington, D.C., to families and local communities.