The primacy of parental rights: why Irish educational policy offers insight into US parents’ demands for school choice

Purpose This articles examines the nature of parental frustrations and the conflicts they have fueled over the past several years that have pitted parents against school boards, administrators and sometimes teachers. It then offers a context for understanding parental demands for school choice through comparative analysis of the Irish educational system which considers a parent’s right to school choice sacrosanct. Design/methodology/approach This article is an original analysis of US educational policy. It offers unique insight into recent activism among US parents through comparison of Irish educational policy which has always honored a parent’s right to school choice. Findings Comparative analysis of the Irish educational system and the primacy of parental rights upon which it is based offers a new vantage point from which to view the US educational system; it provides unique insight into the paradigms driving parental demands for school choice, prompting us to question the prevailing belief that the state is the only suitable player for the administration of public education. Originality/value Comparative analysis of Ireland’s longstanding privileging of parental rights in the realm of public education offers a unique vantage point to understand why many US parents are now demanding the right to choose a school that aligns with their family’s values and beliefs.