Imagine if America’s favorite businesses had to operate by the same rules as your local public school. Starbucks would open every morning to a crowd of customers assigned by ZIP code. Managers wouldn’t be able to choose their market or tailor their product to the people most likely to buy it. And if the espresso machine broke, the manager wouldn’t just replace it. They’d apply for a grant, form a committee, hold a public hearing, and eventually buy a replacement from a state-approved vendor—at triple the price—sometime around next spring.
A look at how public schools operate vis-à-vis businesses shows that the government has no right to be in the education sector.