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The Daily Signal
Here’s How Some States and Families Are Taking Back Control Over Their Children’s Education
Jude Schwalbach
January 28, 2021
When schools closed last March due to the coronavirus pandemic, no one
expected them to still be closed nearly a year later. The image
projected by the public education system as a reliable and stable
fixture of society has waned as classrooms remain empty.
At the same time, teachers unions—who have long tried to claim the
mantle of defenders of K-12 education (an unlikely proposition
pre-pandemic as well)—have disintegrated as they ignore students’
learning loss, isolation, and struggle with adequate distance learning.
For instance, members of the Fairfax Education Association demanded
priority COVID-19 vaccinations for themselves. Yet, having already
received their first dose, the union demanded that schools remain
closed to in-person instruction this fall.
This, despite the fact that experts at the Centers for Disease Control
and Protection recently found that K-12 students are rarely responsible
for large outbreaks and have stated in the Journal of the American
Medical Association that school reopening is safe.
The Left has declared war on our culture, but we should never back down, nor compromise our principles. Learn more now >>
Similarly, Chicago teachers refused to return to their in-person
classrooms in a de facto strike, even though schools would be limited
to 20% capacity.
Many state policymakers have had enough. Instead of directing education
dollars to institutions—where they are vulnerable to special interest
group demands—they are working to make education funds go directly to
students. A student-centered education system would offer choices and
flexibility to families.
Sixteen states—Arizona, Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, Washington, New
Hampshire, Oregon, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Indiana, Utah, and Illinois—have introduced proposals that
empower parents and provide alternative education options for children,
such as education savings accounts, private school scholarships, or tax
credit scholarships.
New Hampshire policymakers, for instance, introduced a proposal that
would provide eligible children with Education Freedom Accounts, which
are parent-controlled education savings accounts.
These especially versatile accounts can be used to purchase a variety
of education expenses, such as private school tuition, tutoring, books,
uniforms, or specialized education programs, to name a few.
K-12 students currently enrolled in the Granite State’s public schools
are eligible for an account if their school is currently operating
under either a hybrid or remote model. New Hampshire students enrolled
in a school whose academic achievement outcomes are below 40% are also
eligible for an account.
According to Sarah Gibson at NHPR, each student’s account would receive
nearly $4,600, which is the “average amount of ‘adequacy aid’ the state
pays per student to school district.” This amount covers between 75% to
100% of the total cost of tuition at nearly 40% of private elementary
schools in New Hampshire.
At the same time, the New Hampshire Department of Education estimated
that the accounts would save the state’s taxpayers $360-$390 million
over the next decade.
The accounts are already widely popular in New Hampshire, where more than 70% of surveyed residents support implementing them.
Iowa policymakers are also reviewing the proposal for the Student First
Scholarship Program, which provides targeted education savings
accounts. Although more targeted than New Hampshire’s proposal, the
Hawkeye State’s accounts could be used to purchase approved education
expenses such as tuition, textbooks, curriculum, and fees.
The scholarship aims to provide education alternatives to K-12 children
who are enrolled in the lowest-performing schools in Iowa.
Iowa policymakers also hope to expand charter school operations within
the state and create an open enrollment system in school districts.
Open enrollment means the children are no longer required to attend
their residentially assigned school.
This approach vastly diminishes the district school monopoly, since it
allows parents to choose the school that is the best fit for their
child. As Iowa state Sen. Amy Sinclair said, “We’re talking about
giving back to parents the right to hold accountable the systems that
are in place for their child’s education.”
At the same time, other states are looking for ways to expand
educational opportunities if special interest groups continue to refuse
to return to in-person instruction.
Illinois policymakers, for example, introduced a proposal that would
provide private school scholarships to students attending district
schools in the event that the schools fail to offer full-time in-person
learning options.
Utah policymakers floated a similar proposal that would require school
districts to reallocate a portion of per-pupil funding for in-person
instruction if schools do not reopen.
Marjorie Cortez of Deseret News reported that this would allow “the
funding to flow to accredited private schools should a student choose
that option.”
The fact that 32% of states have already introduced school choice
proposals this year illustrates an appetite for more flexible learning
options.
While the struggles of students stuck in remote learning are tragic,
the silver lining is that more policymakers and families are willing to
make student-centered education a priority. As we observe the 10th
annual National School Choice Week, that’s something to celebrate.
Read this and other stories at The Daily Signal
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