In a speech last week Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union, reacted angrily to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s call for more school choice.  Ms. Weingarten charged that school choice is rooted in racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia and homophobia. Her comments set off a justified storm of outrage from sincere parents and other school choice supporters across the country.

Traci Woodard, whose son received a scholarship under Ohio’s school choice program, said:

“How dare Randi Weingarten accuse someone like me of being aligned with segregationists when all I’ve wanted to do was give my son the chance to have an opportunity with his education...

“I thank God that my son had the chance to use a voucher, because I knew he’d end up six feet under or in prison if I kept him in that dangerous public school environment.  He thrived in his new private school, and is now in college studying to be a journalist.  I’ll never apologize for fighting to give my son a better life.”

Traci Woodard reflects the views of many parents who are underserved by traditional public schools.  The 74 reports some of their stories here.

The real needs of families, not appeals to racism, are why state lawmakers now offer school choice in communities across the nation.

Today, 30 states and the District of Columbia provide vouchers, choice scholarships and Education Savings Accounts to families who ask for them, enabling nearly 500,000 children to attend a better school.  In addition, 43 states, including Washington, allow parents to select a charter school, serving about three million children nationwide.  A further one million children are on waiting lists, hoping for a place at their local charter school.

Critics like union executive Weingarten say parents are motivated by fear, hate and racism, but there is nothing hateful about wanting to choose the best education for your child.  After all, parents of college-age kids do it every day.

The greater fear is that of union executives themselves, who are afraid of losing their position of power.  They want to keep students within a system that they dominate.  Fortunately this will not happen.  Ms. Weingarten’s reactionary insults cannot turn back the clock.  School choice is here to stay, and in many states it is not even controversial.

So look for more, not fewer, options to be offered in public education, because I am entirely confident that caring parents who want choice will refuse to be intimidated by the mean-spirited attacks of entrenched special interests.