tuition tax credits would work.
If schools in the US, public or private, want to compete internationally, they need to stop wasting time on multi-culturalism, junk science, and the touchy feely curicula that dominates the education system, and concentrate on the fundamentals. Basic mathematics, phonics, diagramming sentences etc; are not taught in most schools. They should be, followed by the classics of literature, algebra and Latin. Many educators feel the latter two should be introduced at age 7 to help develop those parts of the brain earlier.
In addition, my experience as a teacher has shown me that many parents don’t want their children challenged because it causes stress. Poor babies! The other big problem in US education is that we’re raising a generation of wimps who are consistently bailed out by babying parents. The children who succeed are challenged early, challenged often, and are backed by parents who strongly support their child being intellectually challenged on a regular basis.
“tuition tax credits would work.”
Refundable tuition tax credits are probably the most sensible approach to education (and health care). Another poster is correct that sending money to government only to have Uncle Sam send it right back is extremely wasteful. On the other hand, if we truly value education, we shouldn’t tax the expenditures parents make to provide it to their children.
Realistically, the lowest income families may not be able to afford private education (hence the “refundable” feature of tax credits). So long as the tax credits are for fixed dollar amounts (as opposed to paying X% of the tuition bill, which would stimulate massive inflation of the sort we’ve seen in health care) and perhaps pegged to the lowest available tuition rates in a given area, they will work fine to stimulate competition and choice.
Schoolteacher unions would hate this idea, which is a clue to how sensible it is. Unfunded retirement liabilities would become a thing of the past.