By John McClaughry
Last week Reason.com published an update on school choice developments in the states.
Here’s the American Federation for Children on what Missouri’s change means: The new law creates a $25 million Education Savings Account program that provides eligible students $6,350 for educational expenses to attend the public, charter, virtual, private or home school of their choice.
Eligible students include any student who attended public school in the previous year or is entering school for the first time.
Students with an Individualized Educational Program or with a family income below Free and Reduced Price Lunch levels would be given first preference; children in a family making less than 200% of Free and Reduced Price Lunch would be given second preference, and all other eligible students would come after them. Missouri’s $25 million program is funded by a 100% tax credit.
New Hampshire authorized Education Freedom Accounts, a savings account that can be used for authorized educational expenses only. The state deposits a student’s education grant into an approved savings account controlled by the parent. The parent may then choose to spend those funds on a list of approved educational expenses.
Qualified educational expenses include tuition and fees to private schools or other public schools, tuition and fees for non-public online learning programs, tutoring services, textbooks, instructional materials, computer hardware, internet connectivity, other tech services, school uniforms, and educational services.
It’s not too late for Vermont to catch up.
John McClaughry is vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.
Vermont already provides the statutory authority for local school boards to provide a significant School Choice Tuition Voucher to parents of 7th thru 12th graders so they can send their kids to the school they believe best meets their children’s needs – be it public, independent or religious.
Parents should start petitioning their local school boards now if they want to send their kids to another school. There is no time limitation on when the request can be submitted. If its during the existing school year, the tuition voucher will be pro-rated. And the final authority rests with the school board – not the State AOE or its Board of Education.
All that need be done is expand the statute to include elementary school grades… and, of course, being sure district voters elect sympathetic school board members.
John,
If it means more of centralized command/control, the Dem/Progs are all for it, no matter the merits. Remember the veto proof majorities.
If that were the case in Washington, the US people would be sooooooo scr..d