School Choice with Reason's Lisa Snell

"In our life we take for granted choice in all aspects that are so much less important than the education of our own children," says Lisa Snell, director of education and child welfare policy at Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this site. Snell has pushed for greater school choice across the country, and is perhaps best known as the person who helped defeat a 2006 California ballot initiative for universal preschool. The new law, which was championed by moviemaker and actor Rob Reiner, would have cost over $100,000 per each new preschooler added while delivering no clear educational benefits.

On Wednesday, Feb. 6, Snell was interviewed by Reason TV's Tracy Oppenheimer live from our new studio in Los Angeles. The topics covered included the Obama administration's national standards, pushback by teachers unions against school choice, the efficacy of letting parents and kids select their schools, and whether vouchers, charters, and similar reforms don't go far enough in challenging the educational status quo.

Snell has a master's in communication from Cal State, publishes widely on school choice and foster care reform, and works with federal, state, and local officials to implement reforms designed to give more power to individual kids and parents.

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[fufuberry5]

I love you Tracy Oppenheimer!

[Oscar Gutierrez]

I admire creative and innovative individuals!!!! It does not take a village!

[bigraviolees]

Knowledge is everywhere, but teachers to help are not. I have a lot of doubts on charter schools as they are more free to be flexable with omitting what they dont like or the Koch brothers tell them not to like. Or the bible says to avoid. Good bad or ugly public schools can be under the eye of more watchdogs seeing that the teachers do their jobs

[Christian Rodier]

Most charter schools don't take sides in political party rivalry, and most teach teach global warming DOES exist. But if knowledge is every where then you should tell all the kids you know to drop out. Good luck at getting taken seriously.

[Christian Rodier]

Tracy, the more of you videos I see, the more I like you.

[sgtmcwallace]

Tracy got the half hour vid, you go girl

[bill07407]

Mary is an idiot. Machine guns for sports? Only in your delusional mind.

[Td De]

meating needs? I will take some salami and ham please.

[Mary Nelson]

One more thing if you all have degrees than why haven't we solved the education problems. Why are we still fighting wars. Unable to feed our children. Letting unethical companies damage the environment. Allowing machine guns for sports. Not having enough money for programs but still going to war. Not having a defense for chinese hackers. Dictating a curriculum that is devoid of any non-violent problem solving not addressing the issue of children to hungry to pay attention. Not meating needs!

[Mary Nelson]

I believe that getting personal is not an acceptable use of this forum. Those comments would not be happening if you stayed on the subject. This discussion is so important that the luxury of playing flamer is a waste of everyones time. As a person who has struggled in school because of learning differences I do not want to see anymore kids being thrown to the fringe because they learn differently, The discrimination and failure to teach or admit to higher education a whole creative generation.