Universal School Choice Would Transform Real Estate
21st August 2022
A new Arizona law which funds all the state’s K-12th grade children to attend a school of their family’s choosing, public or private, has been widely hailed as a landmark education reform, although evidence suggests the benefits will go far beyond academics. Studies by the Manhattan Institute, New Jersey’s E3, and Connecticut’s Yankee Institute all show that subsidizing students to use alternative placements would save any state millions each year.
But perhaps the most unexpected promise of universal school choice is the impact it would have on area real estate markets, simultaneously lowering the cost of what families must pay for a desirable home, improving the value of distressed areas, and equalizing the quality of life between rich and poor communities. Indeed, the only thing more surprising than such sweeping demographic effects is the person who first explained why school vouchers, education tax credits, or some other choice plan would inevitably trigger them: Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.