Violence in public schools can literally kill your child. In 2000-2001 school year, students were victims of about 1.9 million nonfatal violent crimes such as rape, assault, and robbery. This figure equals about 9,000 violent incidents every school day throughout America, or about one every three seconds.

Public schools are also a drug pusher’s heaven. Thousands of teenagers, pushed by intense peer-pressure, smoke, drink beer, and try marijuana or hard drugs. Schools put hundreds of children together in one big building or courtyard. Mix in overworked or indifferent teachers who have little time or desire to supervise extracurricular activities. That’s why drug pushers circle schoolyards like vultures. Where else can they find groups of vulnerable victims all herded together for their convenience? Is it any wonder that drug and alcohol use is a major problem in public schools?

In 2001-2002 school year, 34.9 percent of tenth-grade students surveyed said they had smoked cigarettes within past year. Fifty-one and two tenths percent said they had drunk beer, and 33.4 percent said they got bombed on that beer. Also, 29.8 percent of same tenth-grade students said they had smoked marijuana within past year, and 78.7 percent of these marijuana users said they got “bombed or very high” on it.

When children are home-schooled, parents can advise and watch over their kids. At home, there is no peer pressure to try drugs, as there is in public schools. Drug pushers don’t hover around private residences.

Parents should therefore ask themselves: Do my children belong in violent, drug-infested public schools? Are there other education options for my children? In "Public Schools, Public Menace," I discuss many quality, low-cost education options parents can use right now if they decide to take their children out of public school.

With state governments burdened by multi-billion-dollar deficits, what is chance that you will see a voucher program in your neighbor-hood any time soon? It might not be wise for you to wait around for such a voucher miracle.

Another problem is that even if vouchers were more widespread, private religious and secular schools simply do not have room for all students who would like to transfer out of public schools, either with state vouchers or private scholarships. According to Nora Murphy, a spokeswoman for Archdiocese of New York, private Catholic schools in New York could accommodate only 3000 new students. Yet, in September, 2002, 240,000 New York students in failing public schools qualified to transfer to a “better” public school under "No Child Left Behind Act." If all these students’ parents instead wanted vouchers for private schools (if such a voucher program existed), you see problem.

For all above reasons, parents who want to give their children a decent education now, cannot and should not depend on vouchers coming to their local neighborhood anytime soon. Parents, don’t wait around for another fifty years while voucher advocates fight drawn-out lawsuits and fierce opposition by teacher unions, public-school bureaucrats, and entrenched education establishment. Don’t pin your hopes on state governments with huge budget deficits to create vouchers for every child in your state. Don’t risk your children’s future on state and local politicians who get campaign con-tributions from teacher unions and consistently vote against voucher programs. Depending on government authorities to come to your rescue is an exercise in futility.