What Oklahoma Can Learn from ... Sweden

April 04, 2008

By Jason Reese

For years the Left has pointed to the Scandinavian countries as case studies for where their policy prescriptions "work." Somewhere along the line, Sweden has grown tired of being a poster child and has decided to pursue excellence instead. In the field of education this has meant a counterrevolution-to choice. For once, people right of center in Britain, Canada, and America are looking for a policy model in Sweden.

In 1992 the usually minority Moderate Party took over from the long-reigning Social Democrats. Upon taking office, the Moderates threw open a door that had been cracked by the previous administration. A groundbreaking new law (aptly named "The Government Bill on Freedom of Choice and Independent Schools") divorced government funding of education from government administration of education.

Now, any group of parents, a neighborhood association, or even a company can petition the government to set up an independent state school or friskola. These schools receive funds directly from the government-originally 85 percent of the per-pupil cost in state-run schools, now 100 percent-tied solely to the number of students who freely enroll. The regulations that allow the government to deny a petition are quite strict (on the government, that is).

Of course, tax money does not come without strings attached. Schools that opt into the system cannot accept "top-up" fees or any other tuition from extra-governmental sources. Likewise, for primary and middle students, academic selection is prohibited. In other words, schools must accept almost anyone who applies.

On the other hand, the friskola have great latitude in the quotidian administration of the school itself. Under the principle of "letting a thousand flowers bloom," schools specialize based on religion (Catholic, Protestant, Muslim), pedagogy (classical, Montessori, progressive), or extracurricular activities (sports, music, art).

The popularity of the new system is undoubted. Even the Social Democrats, when they returned to power from 1994 to 2006, knew better than to roll back the reforms. In the first dozen years of the independent state system, independent schools grew from 2.6 percent of all schools to 11.6 percent. Further, as The Telegraph noted on January 20, 2006, "(a)n independent study found that competition from independent schools has improved results in state schools. Moreover, it has been found that new independent schools are more likely to be established in areas of under-performing state schools serving disadvantaged children."

Oklahoma would not have to start from scratch to emulate these Swedish advances. Our charter schools already form the foundation of such a system. Unfortunately, Oklahoma's charter schools are hemmed in on all sides by onerous regulations. Application and renewal processes are notoriously harsh. (The Fordham Foundation gives Oklahoma a "D-" in Application Process and a "D+" in Renewal Process.)

However, let us not forget the Nordic example. A small reform-in Sweden the re-localization of education administration, in Oklahoma the creation of charter schools-opens the door to more ambitious change. We can expand our charter system along the lines demonstrated above and extend refundable tax credits for those who choose to send their children to schools that are outside the system and can accept fees. Another lesson that we should learn from the Swedish example is that, once school administration is properly devolved from the center to local authorities, the latter will not be eager to empower their competitors. Therefore, authority for the creation of Oklahoma's friskola should rest with the state and be governed by regulations that presume approval.

For those schools outside the system, there is a valid economic fear that subsidization through tax credits would serve to raise tuitions concomitantly. However, with increased competition and local control with traditional and independent state schools, the demand curve can be suppressed by the readily available no-cost alternative. Moreover, unlike Sweden, Oklahoma has a long tradition of private schooling (Catholic, mainline Protestant, secular, and increasingly, Evangelical). Therefore, leaving the option of schooling outside the state-funded pattern is vital. The opportunity to home school, guaranteed in our state constitution, must also be recognized in future reforms through the extension of tax credits for books, supplies, and so on.

Comprehensive school choice is a necessary, but not sufficient, agenda item for the center-right. Addressed wisely, this issue can augur a policy realignment in Oklahoma.

Jason Reese (J.D., University of Oklahoma) is a lawyer in downtown Oklahoma City and a regular columnist for the Oklahoma Gazette.

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