ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Our educational system is essentially a Soviet-style government-run monopoly that could only be loved by the likes of Lenin and Stalin.

Now, I know that’s a strong opening statement, but consider this: The government decides where your kids go to school; what curriculum they’ll study; and even develops long-term educational plans just like the Communists devised five-year plans.

This kind of "one-size-fits-all" approach really punishes kids. And zero tolerance policies are a symptom of the stranglehold our government has on schools.

For example, the Supreme Court recently heard a case about a 13-year-old Arizona student suspected of possessing Advil back in 2003. For that crime, she was strip-searched to see if she had hidden ibuprofen pills on her body.

The Arizona school system maintained it had the right to do what it did. What’s more, it remained defiant through the years, constantly appealing unfavorable lower court decisions when challenged. Arizona ultimately took the case all the way up to the highest court in the land. In late June, the Supremes ruled 8-1 that the school system’s actions were unconstitutional. Video See Clark discuss why he thinks governments shouldn’t own banks »

In another instance of an insane zero tolerance policy, The Washington Post reports that a Virginia teen was suspended for two weeks last year after taking a prescription birth-control pill during lunch.

This was not a religious or moral issue; the school was instead arguing that it was illegal for students to have prescription pills on the premises. That student even faced expulsion!

This is what we’ve done by not offering school choice in our nation. I have long been a fan of vouchers, charter schools and home schooling to bust up the government monopoly on the education of our children.

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