In the AI Era, School Choice Is Crucial

Colleen Hroncich

As we continue our special “AI in Education” series, it’s time to consider the funding side. On Tuesday, my colleague Jennifer Huddleston examined why AI in the classroom matters and the importance of parents and teachers deciding how kids use it. Yesterday, she and Christopher Gardner looked at how teachers can benefit from AI. 

School choice is an important element that relates to both topics. It’s easy enough to say parents should decide how much their children interact with AI in school. But how realistic is that in practice? In our current system, parents are generally mandated to send their children to assigned public schools. If they want something different, they must pay twice for education—once in taxes and again in tuition or homeschooling costs. Similarly, as public schools have a near monopoly on education in most areas, that’s where the vast majority of teachers work.

In public schools, neither parents nor teachers are the primary decisionmakers. As government-run entities, public schools are subject to top-down mandates from local school boards as well as state and federal lawmakers and regulators. For parents or teachers to have their views on AI in education considered, they must petition government officials. Ultimately, whichever side receives the most votes makes the rules that everyone falls under. This could leave many parents and teachers operating under AI rules they strongly oppose.

School choice reorders decisionmaking in education. The earliest programs, such as vouchers and tax-credit scholarships, enable parents to select a school other than their child’s assigned public school. This broadens the options for parents who disagree with the AI policies at their local public school. Newer policies—such as education savings accounts (ESAs), tax-credit ESAs, and refundable tax credits—go even further by allowing parents to fund a variety of educational expenses, including tuition, tutoring, and more. 

While any school choice program expands educational freedom, the newer, more flexible ones are better suited for the constantly changing modern educational landscape. For example, recent polling from the National School Choice Awareness Foundation found that most parents (76 percent) support at least some AI in schools, with 47 percent wanting it actively integrated into learning, while 30 percent favored more limited adoption. The ability to personalize learning based on a child’s needs was the strongest argument for using AI in schools. At the same time, a sizable minority—nearly one in five—want schools to use little or no AI.

In a conventional public school, uniform policies often dictate a single approach for all students, with possible variations by age or disability status. Families who can’t afford other options are stuck with that approach, whether they agree with it or not. With school choice, parents can redirect some of the funding that would have gone to their child’s assigned public school to select an environment that better matches their views.

This doesn’t mean everyone who is skeptical of AI will flee public schools for a screen-free option. In the private sphere, diverse delivery models can suit families’ diverse preferences and needs. With homeschooling, parents are in charge of their children’s education (subject to state rules, which vary). They can incorporate as much or as little AI as they wish, and many embraced AI even before public schools, possibly because they have the autonomy to decide for themselves and can more directly oversee what their kids are doing. 

Microschools, which are smaller learning environments that typically take a student-centered approach to education, also have considerable flexibility in adopting AI policies. As parents choose these microschools and the founders typically get to know the families well, AI access can be tailored to meet different families’ needs. While a larger, more traditional private school may not be as flexible as homeschooling or a microschool, parents can choose a private school that aligns with their wishes rather than wage the political battles public schooling entails. 

School choice programs also benefit teachers by giving them more options for where and how to teach. States with universal vouchers provide a more level playing field for private schools, which are otherwise at a severe disadvantage when faced with tuition-free public schools. This can lead to a more robust private school sector, expanding options for teachers. In states with ESAs and other flexible choice programs, teachers have even greater opportunities. They can create their own microschools, hybrid schools (some days at home and some days at school), homeschool programs, or learning centers. 

Each week, the Cato Friday Feature profiles these innovative educational options. Two years ago, I spoke with Jennifer Wolverton, an engineer who founded the tech-friendly microschool Log Cabin Schoolhouse and was already utilizing AI. Her school now operates as MARS Microschool and blends STEM learning—AI, robotics, and hands-on science labs—with real-world experiences. On the flip side, there are options such as the Logos Tutoring Program, which gets middle school boys outside in the woods two days a week for a screen-free experience where they tackle various challenges.

When it comes to education, parents and teachers are dealing with more options and complexity than ever before. In addition to our “AI in Education” blogs this week, this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. EDT, we’re holding a special X space, a live conversation that happens on X (formerly Twitter) and allows any listener with an X account to request a chance to weigh in. We’re featuring a panel of experts with diverse opinions on the topic—including Jennifer Wolverton from MARS Microschool. To participate, just click the link. We hope you’ll join us and share your thoughts!