DOUG ROSS: Education reforms are no longer just a theory

Thursday's vote to approve the controversial school voucher legislation, along with other education reforms and the decision to fully fund full-day kindergarten, means the Republican experiment officially has begun.

This is a new era in education in Indiana.

The state has a long history of education reforms, too, dating back to even before it was a state. The Northwest Ordinance, which created the Northwest Territories, required those territories to provide a free public education. I think about that every year when we Hoosier parents pay the book rental fees -- something few states require.

Of particular irony is the implementation of New Tech curriculum at Calumet High School to prepare students for the work force. In Gary, don't forget, William Wirt developed the work-study-play philosophy a century ago. Part of this plan was to prepare children for the work force. Sound familiar?

The voucher system is groundbreaking but not necessarily earth-shattering. It is limited to 7,500 students, at least for now.

Gov. Mitch Daniels addressed this issue Thursday at a Valparaiso Economic Development Corp. luncheon.

Students will have to try a public school for at least a year, he said, and if no charter school -- which is also a public school -- is available, then a voucher would pay for the child's education at a private school.

There are income caps, too. Wealthy parents already have school choice. They can afford to send their kids to a private school. The voucher program will help parents who otherwise wouldn't have that option.

It's sensible, I think, to limit the program to 7,500 vouchers to see what impact it might have.

It's likewise sensible to devote $150 million to full-day kindergarten now that state revenues have improved.

"We know that everywhere it's available, almost 100 percent of the families opt for it," Daniels said. No wonder. Kids today will have to compete on a global scale in tomorrow's work force. They need this boost.

"We are in the middle of what I believe will be a transformational year in public education," Daniels said.

It's the year in which a key philosophical question has been answered. The state's mission is to educate the child, not to support the public school system. The latter is a means of meeting the objective, not the objective itself.

In future years, schools and educators will be held accountable for their performance. So, too, must the education reforms enacted this year be held accountable.

I hope these reforms succeed, but that's not guaranteed, at least not for the long term.

You're guaranteed to hear more about that in future years. As my truncated history of education reform in Indiana indicates, the main lesson here is that reforms are continual and inevitable. The pendulum has swung, and it will swing again.

Editorial Page Editor Doug Ross can be reached at (219) 548-4360 or (219) 933-3357 or Doug.Ross@nwi.com. The opinion expressed in this column is the writer's and not necessarily that of The Times.