If Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus went to school today, their test scores would likely be much lower than when Charles Schulz first started writing about these cartoon characters back in 1952. I say this because the National Assessment of Educational Progress recently released their 2022 test scores and the results are not good. Our students are failing.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered by many to be the gold standard for testing student academic achievement. The scores for America’s 13-year-old students fell to their lowest levels in decades. Math scores were the worst, falling nine points between 2020 and 2023, while reading scores fell four points for the same period.

The pandemic is not to blame. Some blame the pandemic for the sharp decline in these academic test scores, but we know from data released by the National Assessment of Education Progress that these scores were already slipping prior to the pandemic.

Socio-economic factors are also not to blame. Some insist on blaming the slippage in scores on socio-economic factors; however, the data shows that students from all socio-economic backgrounds and performance levels saw their test scores decrease significantly this year.

The elephant in the room that no one seems to want to talk about is the National Education Association and the teachers’ unions. During the pandemic, it was the National Education Association and the teachers’ unions which fought vigorously about reopening schools and letting teachers return to the classroom. Teachers are not to blame. Instead of focusing on the basics, teachers are now being told to teach on non-essential topics.

Refocusing on the fundamentals is why I believe Nebraskans need school choice. Although the State Legislature passed LB 753 this year for school choice, the bill did not go far enough. My bill, LB 177, would have allowed the money to follow the student so that parents could make better decisions about where to send their children to school.

Over the interim period I will be conducting an interim study on school choice. Specifically, I want to explore the best ways to fund school choice. Many of the states around us, such as Iowa, have now passed more complete school choice bills than LB 753. If Iowa can do it, then I believe Nebraska can do it as well. Therefore, one of my goals next year will be to introduce a bill that will give Nebraska’s parents a much better option for school choice.

As we celebrate our nation’s independence this week, let me remind you that liberty and independence are not events that we enjoy just once a year. Because we enjoy our liberty and independence every day, we should remember these things and celebrate them all year long.