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The school choice revolution is “in full swing” and will likely be the greatest year of educational empowerment in American history.
Across the country, governors are pushing for school choice campaigns in 2023, and the move is moving fast.
More than 50 school selection laws have already been proposed this year. The proposal includes 36 Education Savings Account (ESA), 13 tax credit, and 4 voucher program bills. Many of these bills expand, create, or improve school choices, and at least 10 represent major expansions. States that could soon join the Education Freedom Revolution include Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming.
Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference in Austin, Texas on January 31, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently said in a state address that it’s time to listen to families and give them educational freedom through education savings accounts. He emphasized that he wants to expand the program because freedom is an urgent item in this legislative session.
Choosing a school is the right answer to ‘freedom, diversity, equality and society’: Neil McCluskey
The welcome move comes after decades of state rejection of private school options, but Abbott and the state legislature are optimistic about educational freedom, and parents more mobilized than ever before.
While Texas has recovered from the pandemic’s impact on education faster than many states, students still have a long way to go. In recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, Texas students showed severe declines in mathematics, but more stable reading skills.
For three years, Gov. Kim Reynolds has urged the legislature to expand its options, facing opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. (AP Photo/Charlie Neighborgal, File)
The most striking result of the Lone Star AEP data is the large difference in performance of white students compared to their black and Hispanic classmates.Black and Hispanic families, hardest hit early in the pandemic, suffered the most due to housing insecurity, high-poverty neighborhoods and lack of in-person learning. gRaders scored an average of 24 points lower in reading. In mathematics, Hispanics scored 21 points lower than whites, and black students scored 26 points lower.
Iowa and Utah are already making headlines this year after passing universal education savings accounts aimed at meeting the needs of all students in the states.
In Hawkeye State, prior to the leadership of Gov. Kim Reynolds, only 2% of the total student population had access to school choice programs outside the school district. During his three years, Reynolds asked the legislature to expand its options and faced opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. This year, she rolled up her sleeves for the newly elected Iowa House of Representatives to pass groundbreaking legislation that will bring much-needed educational change to a system that fails to meet the needs of every family in the state. This expansion of school choice serves as a lifeline for thousands of Iowans by allowing everyone access to the institution of their choice.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during an interview at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City, March 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
In Utah, Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill giving each eligible K-12 student an $8,000 scholarship. Prior to the passage of this law, less than 0.2% of her families in the state had access to selective programs. This victory, made over the years despite heavy pressure from the opposition, put power back into the hands of parents and students.
Ahead of the school selection track is Oklahoma. After parents spoke loud and clear at the ballot box last November, Gov. Kevin Stitt called for funding students, not the system, and he soon announced that two bills would allow all of Sooner’s of K-12 students can now create an ESA.
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What is happening across our country matters. We are witnessing the spread of true policies in which many states participate in friendly competition to become the best school choice providers, ultimately resulting in more educational opportunities for families and more opportunities for their children. It offers the freedom to choose what is best. In states that have gone through school choice, the cost of education is finally starting to depend on the student, not the institution.
We know that not all children learn the same way or have the same abilities. By choosing a school, parents can take advantage of the state portion of per-student education funding to serve the specific needs of their students. For communities struggling to keep up, this chance could be life-saving.
School choice momentum is giving students who have struggled with inequalities and zip codes long enough a chance to succeed. cannot continue to live under
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As a Latino mother and an advocate for school choice, I have seen firsthand how educational empowerment elevates students and turns them into naysayers.
The reality is that it took bold leadership to start this educational revolution. Now is the time to build momentum and bring opportunities to all the children who need them.
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