Every family needs the opportunity, regardless of income, to select the school that will effectively educate their child and align with their family’s values.
Unfortunately, what is happening in most of today’s public schools is that the classroom content is extremely radical and has nothing to do with solid academic learning. Children aren’t learning the skills they need—whether reading, writing, or math—but they are fed content that is in hostile conflict with their best interest and what moms and dads are teaching at home.
Education savings accounts (ESA) and other school choice avenues, including private school scholarships, tax credit scholarships, and tax credits, are ways that families are being set free to select another education avenue for their children than the public school.
Among the various school choice avenues, ESAs are the gold standard because families can use the allocated funds beyond private school tuition, ranging from test fees, curriculum, tutoring, educational technology, and therapies for students with special needs. Also, in some states, ESA funds can be saved for college tuition.
By empowering parents, the best possible decisions for allocating the ESA funds for the education of their unique children are determined.
Today, 15 states have enacted ESA policies, and six of those states have universal ESA laws in effect. Universal means that all K-12 students in the state are eligible.
Looking beyond ESAs alone, a total of 10 states now have universal school choice laws as a result of historic achievements during the 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions. And other states are on the horizon to pass ESA policies and universal school choice in the 2024 sessions.
Click HERE to listen to Dr. Keri D. Ingraham’s interview on the Making the Leap podcast hosted by Chris and Christine Stigall at the Herzog Foundation.