About OCPA

Public Education: A process or a mission?

The Oklahoma Constitution establishes the state’s duty to provide free schools for the purpose of creating an educated public. It says nothing about what those schools should look like or how they should work. Those details are left to the people and policymakers in every generation.

It is easy to confuse a process with its purpose. Just think about how often the word “education” gets used to describe a particular system of schools or set of policy issues. But education is not just a process, it’s a purpose. Are there state “education” dollars and programs that serve the purpose, that result in learning? Of course. Are there other dollars and programs that fail to serve the purpose, or at least don’t do it very well? Certainly there are. But it all gets labeled “education,” as if it’s all the same.

OCPA focuses on the ends, not just the means. We believe Oklahoma students should have the opportunity of a world-class education. To that end, we take a broader, more forward-looking view of public education. If a traditional, brick-and-mortar, government-run school works best to educate a particular child—that’s great! If something else will work better for another child, that’s great, too!

The point of public education is not doing things a particular way, the point is to educate students. Every process and dollar spent should be directed toward, and scrutinized according to, the mission of creating an educated public.

School Choice: Should parents or politicians be in charge?

Parents have the moral right and duty to direct the upbringing of their children. This includes education. And in most cases, the result of parents making choices for their children’s education is more efficient and effective learning outcomes. In other words, the mission of public education is best served by empowering parents to make these choices.

School choice is the alternative to a monopoly run by politicians. Allowing families to make choices creates incentives favoring both efficiency and excellence, as well as allowing for diversity and innovation. School choice supports teachers and other educational entrepreneurs who work to create new ways to help students learn.