One option, Policy A, would be to create a 0.25% increase in the state income tax for Oklahomans so public schools would receive pay raises to bring them to a similar level of surrounding states. This would keep teachers from leaving for surrounding states because of pay. They would be able to attract more qualified individuals into teaching because they will receive a better salary than they would have otherwise. This policy would be a taxation policy because it is increasing taxes to increase the pay of teachers in public schools. The other option, Policy B, would be to lay the ground for the privatization of the Oklahoma education system, which would be regulated by the state government, that would lead to a mix of schools funded by philanthropical purposes and others will be ran for profit. This would let the government step back and let private entities do the majority of the teaching in the state, the state would provide school vouchers for these students to attend these schools. This policy would be a regulatory policy because it would give some power of education to the private sector which would be regulated by the state. The ultimate …show more content…
The ACLU would most likely file a lawsuit against any version of this policy if passed because they will say that it violates the separation of church and state because some of the schools that will take students using vouchers provided by the government. A potential harm of this policy is that is it could make it more difficult for children in heavily isolated areas to receive these higher levels of education because it will be difficult for them to have access to a private school. Students in these portions of the state are more likely to be the ones who need public schools than students that live in urban areas. While they will still receive a better education than before, it might not reach the level of the education being received by those in private