Consumer-Driven Education

Through The Consumer Driven Education Project, Flint Hills continues its efforts to stimulate discussion of serious education reform in Kansas as well as impact the direction of that reform. As an independent voice in the debate, The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy provides an invaluable resource to the public, the media and policymakers.

Through forums, legislative briefings and public meetings, Flint Hills serves as an educational leader, providing Kansans access to experts in the field from around the country. These speakers continue to prove themselves an excellent resource in providing context to the debate and explaining the experience of other states.

The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy views The Consumer Driven Education Project as a facilitating agent of change over the long term. Recognizing that political solutions are only one component of true education reform, the Project strives to not only assist policymakers in charting a path toward a consumer-directed education system in this state, but also to engage the public and the media on education issues in a meaningful and sustained way.

 is an Education Policy Fellow with the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. He has a Masters of Art in Political Science from The Ohio State University, where he studied the politics of economic development, social movements, and international relations. Mr. LaPlante has worked in the field of public policy since 1998, assisting lawmakers across the country in promoting consumer-driven, cost-effective solutions to the public issues of the day, particularly in regards to education. His commentaries have been widely published online and in publications such as the The Wichita Eagle, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Detroit News, and the Salina Journal.  Mr. LaPlante’s policy papers and commentaries for Flint Hills can be found at FHC Publications.