Dan Lips of The Heritage Foundation argues that there's much more to the conservative education agenda than just choice--that "the pundits who are pushing for the Republican Party to develop new ideas should appreciate the scope and success of conservative reforms in education." He makes a decent case, pointing to a variety of reforms in Florida (under Jeb Bush) and a couple in Tennessee.
Of course we've said for years that choice and accountability go hand-in-hand, but also that such reforms to the structure of schooling have to be accompanied by changes in how schools and districts actually operate--e.g., in their curricular, hiring, and staffing practices. But it's great to see these views echoed by Heritage--I guess there's nothing better than a Democratic administration to bring some realism to the right.
