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A little-publicized revolution has swept through several American states in recent years, and it’s a revolution that is changing the basics of a simple American idea: giving parents more control over how they spend their money and how their children behave. Based on the way we think, we are helping students achieve better outcomes. Educated.
Over the past three and a half years, we have all seen countless problems in our government-run public education system unravel. The politically motivated curriculum was exposed all at once, as was the iron triangle of teachers’ unions, the federal bureaucracy, and the state, local, and federal politicians in big government who do their bidding.
In response, parents across the country are rising up to take back control over their children’s education.
California’s new law gives the state more power over local school boards
One of the best ways to do this is to directly confront the reason why so many people are forced to send their children to public schools out of necessity: tuition.
The premise of school selection is simple. By far, parents are the best judge of what is best for their child’s education. (St. Petersburg)
West Virginia became the first state in the nation to implement a near-universal Education Savings Account (ESA) policy in 2021 with the Hope Scholarship Program. An ESA is a government-approved savings account that allows public education funds to ensure students truly receive the education that is best for them. This is accomplished by allowing parents to direct funds toward pre-approved educational expenses that students need to achieve and excel.
Currently, 93% of Mountain State students qualify for the Hope Scholarship Program. Thankfully, other states are taking notice and following suit.
In 2022, Arizona expanded the Empowerment Scholarship Account program to all students in the state. This builds on the state’s tradition of being the first in the nation to create an ESA program, which was limited to students with special needs, when it established the ESA program in 2011. And by 2023, he said, places like Iowa, Utah, Arkansas and Florida will be flooded with universal ESA programs.
It’s not just these states. Overall, there are 10 states that have implemented some form of universal educational freedom program.
The premise behind these various policies is simple. By far, parents are the best judge of what is best for their child’s education. The judgment of bureaucrats and union leaders who have never met their children and probably never will meet them is because they love them and know them, including their personal needs, strengths, and challenges. It is a catastrophically poor substitute for parents who have children.
Despite all the fear-mongering propaganda we hear in the corporate media, what the Educational Freedom Program actually does is to provide public services to the next generation of Americans from “we the taxpayers.” is to change the flow of money.
But in doing so, more importantly, these programs improve outcomes while simultaneously empowering and enriching the bureaucracies, politics, and unions that currently empower and enrich by acting as intermediaries between parents and their children’s education. It is to eliminate the subject of In other words, educational freedom allows us to fund students rather than institutions.
The results speak for themselves. A recent study by EdChoice found that out of 28 studies of school choice programs in the United States, 25 programs had a positive impact on public school students’ test scores. At a time when public school test scores are embarrassingly low, this should be a welcome change for parents who want their children to succeed.
But just as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to education, there are many policy options to strengthen educational freedom, such as those highlighted in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s new State Educational Freedom Index. From open enrollment and virtual school to charter school and homeschool policies, parents should have the option to choose the educational style that works best for their child. Oklahoma now provides a model for how these different approaches can be combined to provide myriad options for parents and students alike.
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Currently, Oklahoma’s open transfer law allows parents to freely transfer their students to any school district in the state, as long as the receiving school district has capacity. This means that parents who want to send their children to public schools are not bound by zip code restrictions.
At the same time, students whose needs and talents are better served elsewhere can benefit from Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit, which was enacted earlier this year. This is where she offers $5,000 to $7,500 to parents who decide that a private school is the best place for their child. At the same time, Oklahoma has 38,000 students enrolled in public charter schools in all 77 counties.
Currently, more than 18 million students across the United States have access to some form of educational freedom program. This means that approximately one in three of her students can access the program. While this is great news for many parents and students, there is still work to be done.
Despite all the fear-mongering propaganda we hear in the corporate media, what the Educational Freedom Program actually does is to provide public services to the next generation of Americans from “we the taxpayers.” is to change the flow of money.
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Freedom is not a privilege that should be seen as a gift from a benevolent government. The same applies to educational freedom. We, the people, make up the government of this country, and public education is and should be accountable to us, the parents. How would we Americans feel if only one in three of our fellow citizens could freely speak, assemble, and worship?
Now is the time for parents and policymakers across the country to come together and build on the great work already being done in each state. Every student has a chance to succeed, and every parent has the right to have a say in their child’s education. America should have more educational freedom.
Click here to read more about Ryan Walters
Jonathan Williams is chief economist and vice president for policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council.He is a co-author of ”Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index.” Follow him on X @TaxEconomist.
