Key Points

• On March 14, 2024, the Ģ����Ƶ House voted 91-82 to pass Promise Scholarships (). The bill was confirmed in the Senate and signed into law on April 23, 2024.��
• SB 233 will create a much-needed education option for students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% of public schools.��
• The Ģ����Ƶ House added parameters to the bill that reduce accessibility and set the bill to expire after 10 years. These issues will need to be addressed moving forward so that every child can have better opportunities to access quality education in Ģ����Ƶ.

On March 14, 2024, the Ģ����Ƶ House voted 91-82 to pass Promise Scholarships (). This bill is an important first step in extending an education lifeline to low- and middle-income kids in under-performing schools. While there is still much more to do as we press toward universal school access, we are thankful to the many House lawmakers who put the needs of kids above politics to advance this measure.

What’s in the Promise Scholarship Bill?

With these Promise Scholarships, students in the lowest performing 25% of public schools will be eligible to have $6,500 a year set aside in an account. These are the funds the state would have spent for their public school education. Under this bill, parents can direct the funds to cover approved educational expenses, including private school tuition, books, uniforms, and even transportation.

SB 233 also gives first priority to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level—around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after lower-income students are served.

To give public schools time to plan and adjust, public school districts will still receive state funding for a period of two years to cover any students leaving to participate in the program.��

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.” — Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.”
— Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

Limits to Promise Scholarships

While we are thankful that the bill moved forward in the 2024 legislative session, the version of SB 233 passed by the House is watered down in significant ways:

It restricts eligibility and access: The bill caps the amount of revenue available to fund Promise Scholarships to not exceed 1% of public school funding. Even if parent demand maxes out the program, this amount only covers an estimated 21,000-22,000 kids. That’s 0.012% of Ģ����Ƶ’s public school student population, and only a fraction of the 500,000+ kids that are stuck in the bottom 25% of public schools.

It applies expiration dates: Unless a future legislative body evaluates the program and chooses to extend it, the Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship program will expire in 10 years. In that decade, lawmakers will still have to vote annually to fund the program. These measures add a layer of uncertainty that makes it difficult to secure a future of success and opportunity for our kids.

Curious how your representative voted on SB 233?
Ģ����Ƶ’s General Assembly puts the voting records online. Go to the legislature’s website to see the breakdown of support among state representatives.��

Student success is at the heart of Promise Scholarships

The passage of SB 233 can’t come soon enough. Ģ����Ƶ is now surrounded by states that are aggressively and urgently addressing the needs of the future generations by adopting , or ESAs, that are open to all students. Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina have recently enacted universal programs, while South Carolina is in the process of creating a universal program in the coming years.

ESAs, particularly universal ones, are good policy because kids need quicker solutions for accessing education options that will work best for them. We can’t wait on reforms that will take years or even decades to take hold. As we’ve seen before, increased funding is no guarantee that poor performing public schools will improve, much less improve quickly.

Every semester, our K-12 students have academic milestones they are supposed to hit. And we know that when they don’t achieve these goals, they are more likely to fall further and further behind their peers, putting themselves and their futures at risk.��

SB 233 provides immediate help by making Promise Scholarships available beginning with the school year in 2025.

Education is a building block of a flourishing life. Without access to quality education in Ģ����Ƶ, our kids and our communities will continue down a path where success and opportunity are not open to everyone in the state. An increasing number of families are looking for alternatives, and we must work to provide opportunities that meets the needs of all students, not just a few.

Related Articles

Ģ����Ƶ Needs to Widen Schooling Choices in 2024
(Buzz Brockway in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Ģ����Ƶ Passes Promise Scholarships and Expands Education Opportunity

(Randy Hicks in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarships (SB 233): Questions and Answers

Gov. Brian Kemp Champions Education Opportunity, Calls for Unity on Promise Scholarship

Why Educational Opportunity Is Good for Rural Areas, Too

The post Promise Scholarships Cross Major Hurdle appeared first on For Opportunity.

The Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship is a state-supported form of financial aid for students leaving public school in search of a better educational setting. Under the proposed legislation, Senate Bill 233, eligible students would have $6,500—funds that the state would have spent on their public school education—set aside in an account. Parents then could direct that money to pay for educational expenses, including private school tuition, books, uniforms, and even transportation. 

Ģ����Ƶ already has two scholarship-based programs: 

• The , which allows students with special education needs to choose the public or private school best suited for their situation. In the event that families choose a private school, the state provides a scholarship equal to the amount the student would have received for state-based education services.��
  
• The , which expands access to private schools for families who otherwise could not afford that option.��

Adding another scholarship program to Ģ����Ƶ’s menu of education options naturally raises questions about what Promise Scholarships would do and who would be affected. For Ģ����Ƶ’s private schools, these questions are top-of-mind as they seek to understand how Promise Scholarships would impact the Tax Credit Scholarship Program and potentially put other requirements on private schools.

Join the movement to give every child in Ģ����Ƶ the education they deserve! Visit Everykid.info to learn how you can make a difference and learn valuable information for parents on how you can help provide quality education for all Ģ����Ƶ kids. Don’t wait – visit now!

Promise Scholarship (SB 233) FAQs for Ģ����Ƶ’s Private Schools��

Which students would be eligible for a Promise Scholarship?

Students currently attending public schools that are ranked in the bottom 25% of all public schools in academic performance. In 2024, the House of Representatives introduced changes to SB 233 that further narrow eligibility:

The bill now gives first priority to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level—around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after the lower-income students are served.

A funding cap was also put on the program. Funding for Promise Scholarships cannot exceed 1% of public school funding. Even if parent demand maxes out the program, this amount would only cover an estimated 22,000 kids.��

Are Promise Scholarship dollars limited solely to tuition and expenses related to private school education?

No. Unlike existing school choice programs in the state such as the Ģ����Ƶ Special Needs Scholarship and the Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship Program, the resources students receive from the Promise Scholarship are more flexible. In addition to private school tuition, allowable expenses could include tutoring and therapies—even offered outside of the private school setting—as well as curriculum and materials for homeschooling.��

What is required by the state of Ģ����Ƶ for a private school to accept students using Promise Scholarship dollars?

The requirements for private schools under the Promise Scholarship program substantially mirror the requirements for private schools already participating in either the Ģ����Ƶ Special Needs Scholarship Program or the Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship Program. If you already participate in either or both programs, there will be very few (if any) new requirements.

In order to serve students with a Promise Scholarship, private schools must:

• Have been in operation for one school year.
• Submit aggregate data of Promise Scholarship Students’ attendance rates and course completion rates.*
• Report on-time graduation rates of Promise Scholarship Students.*��
• Comply with the anti-discrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. Section 2000d.
• Comply with state laws applicable to private schools.
• Be physically located in Ģ����Ƶ.
• Administer to Promise Scholarship Students at least one norm-referenced test that measures academic progress in math and language arts per year.*

*Requirement is unique to the Promise Scholarship program and not currently required by the Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

Would the creation of the Promise Scholarship program negatively impact existing school choice programs, such as the Tax Credit Scholarship Program?

No. The programs should be viewed as complementary to one another, allowing for a greater pool of financial aid for prospective private school families.��

Students would be prohibited from receiving both a Promise Scholarship and a scholarship from an SSO under the Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship Program. However, the Promise Scholarship program gives each participating student $6,500 directly from the state—a higher value than the average scholarships awarded by SSOs under the tax credit program.��

The Tax Credit Scholarship Program could continue to serve students who are not eligible for a Promise Scholarship.��

Are there any protections for private schools, particularly faith-based schools, against state regulation as a result of accepting Promise Scholarship students and dollars?

Yes. Modeled after similar provisions in other states, there is explicit language in the bill prohibiting the state from requiring a private school or other participating provider to alter the creed, practices, admissions and employment policies, or curricula.��

What’s the key takeaway for Ģ����Ƶ’s private schools?

The Promise Scholarship Program and the Tax Credit Scholarship Program would be complementary to one another. Together, these two programs diversify the sources and types of aid available to families and can broaden the potential applicant pool for private schools without creating additional fundraising burdens.

Additional Resources

The post The Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship (SB 233): What Private Schools Need to Know appeared first on For Opportunity.

The year isn’t even halfway over, and six states have already enacted laws that create universal educational access for all students in 2023.

In total, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, and now South Carolina and Indiana have enacted either universal—or nearly universal—educational opportunity this year. That’s on top of Arizona and West Virginia, which did so in 2021 or 2022.

Each state has its own version of a scholarship or educational savings account that the state funds for children’s needs outside of traditional public school. For example, these types of accounts send a portion of each student’s public school dollars to allow the child to attend a private school of their family’s choice. In some cases, families who choose to homeschool their children can use the funds for educational expenses.

Indiana

. That state’s scholarship program will now be available to any family below 400% of the amount required to qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. That translates to a salary of around $222,000 a year for a family of four. 

Previously, requirements were in place that further limited the program, such as it only being open to families with students previously enrolled in a public school or to children in the foster care system. Under the new law, only an estimated 3.5% of Indiana’s families won’t qualify for this option.

The Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity led a state-wide campaign to educate parents and legislators on the positive impact that choice brings to public education.

South Carolina

Meanwhile, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster recently signed a bill into law that eventually expands that state’s scholarship program to families at or below 200% of F&R priced lunch as well. The program is more limited in scope than Indiana’s. It will only be available to 5,000 students the first year, 10,000 the second year, and 15,000 students the third year.

allows for the establishment of Educational Scholarship Trust Funds. Funds deposited in these accounts can be used not only for expanded school choice, but may also be used for special needs therapies, such as physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. Tutors and transportation may also be included for families caring for special needs students. 

So, what happened in Ģ����Ƶ?

If the Ģ����Ƶ Legislative Session had passed Senate Bill 233, also known as the, it would have put $6,500 per student back into parents’ pockets so they could fund the best educational approaches for their children. The funds would have been eligible for use as private school tuition and public school alternatives, such as homeschooling. 

According to the Ģ����Ƶ Department of Education, families who qualified would have had students enrolled into the lower 25% of schools in Ģ����Ƶ. This amounted to roughly 400,000 students. 

SB 233 was a strong bill, passing the Senate with unanimous Republican support and going on to the House. Despite receiving no support from Senate Democrats, it’s excellent news that the bill made it so far through legislative proceedings. 

The House vote proved to be tougher, with bipartisan representatives voting against it. Rep. Mesha Mainor of Atlanta was the lone Democrat in the House to vote in favor. On its final day of session, SB 233 was only six votes short of the 91 it needed to pass. 

The good news is that the Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship Act is eligible for reconsideration during the 2024 legislative session.��

Looking to what’s next

Public schools are not the problem. We love and support public schools—they will remain the right and best choice for the vast majority of Ģ����Ƶ families. But we can love, support, and move public schools forward while expanding education into new areas.

Public education is a foundational and vital part of the success of American society, but an increasing number of families are looking toward alternatives—and their choices are just as valid. We must work to deliver quality education to all students, which means finding ways to support families who take a different schooling path. While many will access their education through public schools, not all kids are a perfect fit for that system, and they cannot be left behind.

The post Add South Carolina and Indiana to the list of states enacting nearly universal educational opportunity appeared first on For Opportunity.

Key Points

• Arkansas is the fourth state in the U.S. to legislate universal educational opportunity — the others are Arizona, Utah, and Iowa.
• Ģ����Ƶ Senate passed the Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship Act () in a 33-23 vote. It will go on to the House next, where it has traditionally faced more opposition.
• Ģ����Ƶ Senate passed the Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship Act () in a 33-23 vote. It will go on to the House next, where it has traditionally faced more opposition.��

Arkansas recently joined a growing list of states that have approved Education Scholarship Accounts, empowering parents to make the best decisions for their child’s unique educational needs.

The accounts, (EFAs), will contain around $6,600 in funds per student every year. Families can then use the available funds to pay for education-related fees, including tuition, tutoring, textbooks, therapies, and other costs which have been approved by the state.��

It will take three years to fully phase in the act. By the end of the third year, all students in Arkansas will be eligible for EFAs.

The creation of these accounts makes Arkansas the fourth state in the U.S. to legislate universal educational opportunity — the others are Arizona, Utah, and Iowa.

Now, Ģ����Ƶ could be next.

Last week, the Ģ����Ƶ Senate passed the Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship Act () in a 33-23 vote. It will go on to the House next, where it has traditionally faced more opposition.��

If enacted into law, the Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship Act would fund $6,000 per student every school year. Promise Scholarships would give families the financial freedom to select an educational environment that best fits their child’s needs. A wide range of educational expenses would be approved under the act, including tutoring, virtual classes, private school tuition, homeschool curriculum, special needs therapies, technology, college courses, and more.��

In the wake of the pandemic, parents nationwide are demanding more options for their children’s education. Learning loss is one of many major crises to arise from nationwide lockdowns. At Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity, we believe it is the state’s responsibility to help reverse that loss.

Families across the state need access to more opportunities now. With Promise Scholarships, Ģ����Ƶ’s children will have more opportunities to excel at school. Every child deserves empowerment through a high-quality education that works best for him or her. We believe that Ģ����Ƶ should lend support to every educational option for its students, including alternatives like homeschooling and virtual learning.��

Promise Scholarships would give families the financial freedom to select an educational environment that best fits their child’s needs.

Promise Scholarships would give families the financial freedom to select an educational environment that best fits their child’s needs.

Over the past few years, more and more families have embraced alternatives to public education. While the majority of students across Ģ����Ƶ still attend public schools (and will likely continue to in the future), a growing minority of families are choosing differently. And, as the nation collectively faced an unprecedented pandemic, parents began to realize how many options were available to them outside the traditional school system.

Traditionally, families who select private schools or opt to homeschool receive no financial support to do so. Despite that choice, their tax dollars continue to fund public schools whose services they do not use.��

Parents with special needs children struggle to find school systems that will accommodate their children’s needs. Often, they find that one facility lacks all the important resources they need so their children can thrive at school. While they could opt to build a hybrid program for their children, which might include home healthcare or virtual classes, those alternatives are cost-prohibitive.��

Ultimately, we believe that tax dollars should follow each child, meeting their unique needs along the way. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to education. Public, private, home, and virtual education are of equal value, and as each family decides what is best for their children, Ģ����Ƶ should be willing to meet them where they are.��

As the Ģ����Ƶ Promise Scholarship Act moves to the House, we urge you to contact your local representative to advocate for this bill. Our children can’t wait any longer for educational support that fits their individual needs and allows them to thrive. The future is depending on us.

The post Arkansas creates educational opportunity. It’s time for Ģ����Ƶ to step up appeared first on For Opportunity.

In 2024, Ģ����Ƶ legislators are considering an expansion to Ģ����Ƶ’s Tax Credit Scholarship program. Through this program, businesses and individuals toward private school scholarships for K-12 students enrolled in public schools. In return, they receive a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit.

In 2022, the state Legislature raised the program cap by $20 million, bringing it up to $120 million from $100 million. But that increase hasn’t proven large enough to keep up with communities’ positive response. Lawmakers are now looking at a that would raise the total program cap to $200 million, and expand the number of students the program can serve. 

“It’s clear that demand for the program is strong. The existing $120 million cap was met on the very first day of applications in 2023,” noted Buzz Brockway, Vice President of Public Policy at the Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity. “Ģ����Ƶ families are demanding more options, and lawmakers would be wise to take notice.”

Here are a few reasons why raising the cap on Ģ����Ƶ’s tax credit scholarship program would help students, parents, and the state’s overall education system:

1. The Ģ����Ƶ Tax Credit Scholarship program makes private school access more equitable.

Private schools are often an education option available to families who can afford them. Through Ģ����Ƶ’s Tax Credit Scholarship, lower and middle-income families can get financial support to access private schools as a viable option when the local public school isn’t the best fit for their child.

But what about families in rural areas? According to a 2017 by The Brookings Institute, 69% of families living in rural areas have a private school within 10 miles. Increasing the program cap for Ģ����Ƶ’s tax credit scholarships would help rural Ģ����Ƶ families in this situation. For those that aren’t, there’s still a benefit: Growing the tax credit scholarship program is a way to encourage more private schools to launch and fill education gaps in areas where options are fewer and farther between. 

2. Raising the program cap makes it possible to serve more kids.

Currently 500,000 Ģ����Ƶ students are in schools that are underperforming or simply aren’t meeting their specific needs. Increasing the program cap means more families could enjoy the flexibility to consider one of Ģ����Ƶ’s when seeking out a school that matches their kid’s learning style, their personal values, or other preferences. In 2021, were awarded to eligible students. Imagine how many more kids we could help if Ģ����Ƶ’s tax credit scholarship program expanded to $200 million. 

3. Expanding our tax credit scholarship program would bring Ģ����Ƶ up-to-date with other states.

Florida, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Iowa, and Nevada have all taken note of the growing popularity of tax credit scholarships and have responded by on their various programs. Whether it’s tax credit scholarships or other options like Education Savings Accounts, the momentum to embrace more education choice programs is building across , raising the question of whether Ģ����Ƶ will keep up.

With Ģ����Ƶ’s Tax Credit Scholarship, kids in Atlanta’s crime-ridden neighborhoods have found a safe place to go to school, allowing them to improve academically and pursue their dreams.

4. It’s one option to relieve parents’ frustration with one-size-fits-all education options.

A recent poll of 5,000 parents, conducted by the Harris Poll, revealed that 20% of parents switched schools for their kids during the pandemic. The pandemic itself is a tired topic, but the trend it introduced in education isn’t: Over the last two years, parents’ desire for more education options has skyrocketed as many of them realize that traditional public schools don’t work for every kid. 

By investing in educational choice programs, we can guarantee families access to a variety of stellar learning experiences that help their children reach great heights—academically, socially, vocationally…the list goes on. Ģ����Ƶ’s tax credit scholarship program makes private schools one of these meaningful options, regardless of where families live or how much they earn. 

5. Increasing education tax credits gets more businesses and individuals involved in our kids’ futures.

A quality education, tailored to a student’s unique needs, prepares kids for the workplace, for community involvement, and for life. That’s why education is more than a parental concern—it should be a community priority. We all benefit when kids have access to the education option that will help them become healthy, successful citizens, employees, relatives, and friends as they grow up. Ģ����Ƶ’s Tax Credit Scholarship gives our communities—both businesses and taxpayers—a way to directly invest in K-12 education and ensure bright futures for our students. By raising the program cap, we can expand the investment opportunities available to current donors and to new businesses and individuals who want to get involved.  

Related Reading: Ģ����Ƶ School Choice In the News

Ģ����Ƶ students need more schooling choices (GCO in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) 

(The Center Square)

(Washington Examiner)

The post 5 Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Expand Ģ����Ƶ’s Tax Credit Scholarship appeared first on For Opportunity.

Key Points

• Ģ����Ƶ’s recent growth could be halted because it’s falling behind other states who are increasingly offering families more and more choices in K-12 education.
• ��Ģ����Ƶ lawmakers have another��chance this year at passing ESAs.��
• Ģ����Ƶ’s public schools are serving most families well — and public schools are the best option for most families in our state. But for some families, traditional public schools aren’t the best fit for their child’s needs.

Ģ����Ƶ is one of the fastest growing states in the country, and for good reason. But we imperil our ongoing growth if we fail to offer families the opportunity to choose a world-class education for their children. That means giving all students access to the right school for them — whether that’s a traditional public school, a public charter school, a private school, or a homeschool.

By falling short on this goal, Ģ����Ƶ risks falling behind other states who are increasingly offering families more and more choices in K-12 education. Two of the latest examples are Iowa and Utah.��

In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds that creates Education Scholarship Accounts (or ESAs) for lower income Iowa families, allowing the money to follow the child to the best school for his or her unique needs. The program will be phased in over three years until it’s available to all families regardless of income.

Meanwhile, the state House in Utah that would create a similar ESA, with dollars available for families to use for expenses like private school tuition, therapies, tutors, or other curriculum. That bill next goes to the state Senate.

Many Ģ����Ƶ parents are likely looking at families in Iowa and Utah and wondering, “Why can’t we get the same level of educational opportunity here?” It’s a good question. Year after year, lawmakers in the Ģ����Ƶ General Assembly have considered passing our own version of an ESA, but each year the measure has fallen short.

In the current 2023 session, lawmakers have another shot at passing ESAs and it’s well past time to make them a reality. The biggest argument against ESAs is that they will hurt traditional public schools. This couldn’t be further from the truth. We believe that when families are well served by our K-12 education infrastructure, all schools will benefit.��

Ģ����Ƶ risks falling behind other fast-growing states unless we address the need to offer a truly diverse set of educational options.

Ģ����Ƶ risks falling behind other fast-growing states unless we address the need to offer a truly diverse set of educational options.

The bottom line is that Ģ����Ƶ’s public schools are serving most families well — and public schools are the best option for most families in our state. But for some families, traditional public schools aren’t the best fit for their child’s needs. And in many cases, those schools will never be the right fit due to challenges and needs that can’t be met at those schools.

That’s why more options are needed. Ģ����Ƶ risks falling behind other fast-growing states unless we address the need to offer a truly diverse set of educational options. Let’s make 2023 the year that progress happens.

The post Now is the time to expand educational freedom in Ģ����Ƶ appeared first on For Opportunity.

This year, the Ģ����Ƶ Legislature is poised to once again consider creating Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for families statewide. These scholarships would allocate funds to allow parents to choose the best educational option for their child’s unique needs.

Expanding educational access should be a welcome development for lawmakers and citizens alike. After all, who could argue with the idea of making educational opportunities more accessible? Unfortunately, expanding access to a wider variety of schools and academic opportunities can be an issue that divides lawmakers not only along party lines, but along the lines of an urban-rural divide as well.

For instance, Ģ����Ƶ lawmakers who represent rural areas have raised concerns about the impact that expanded educational opportunities could have on their local school districts. The argument goes like this: Rural areas tend to lack access to private or charter schools compared to urban areas, so efforts to increase the diversity of educational options will end up siphoning money away from traditional public schools, the one and only option available in rural districts.

As the Ģ����Ƶ Legislature is set to take up a bill that would create ESAs, now is a great time to debunk the myth that educational opportunity simply doesn’t benefit rural areas.

Let’s jump right into it.

Myth 1: There aren’t enough private schools near rural areas to justify ESAs

In a December 2022, Dr. Patrick Wolf busted the myth that families living in rural areas don’t have access to private schools. He cited a that revealed 69% of rural families live within 10 miles’ driving distance of a private school. 

“Ten miles is easy commuting distance, especially when you live out in the sticks like I do,” said Wolf. “So, the overwhelming majority of families in rural areas do have access to private schools.”

Of course, when there is demand for any product, service, or offering, society finds ways to meet those demands. The same is true for educational opportunities. Wolf explains: “The other thing that happens when school choice programs are launched statewide is more private schools spring up because there’s a greater opportunity to serve students. When you increase the demand for school choice by making it more feasible to more families, supply emerges to meet that demand. It’s just straight economics.”

In other words, ESAs could potentially open the doors to establishing more private schools in Ģ����Ƶ, in both rural and urban areas. 

At the time of this writing, there are across the state of Ģ����Ƶ, with 152,851 students enrolled. During 2021-2022, there were in the state as well. While that number is dwarfed by Ģ����Ƶ’s public schools (, with 1,728,049 students enrolled), it’s still significant.

Broadening educational opportunity would effectively give parents in rural areas a reason to demand more options where they live. If Wolf’s assessment of supply and demand is correct (and we believe it is), then we can expect that more rural families will benefit from private schools in the coming years as a direct result of ESAs. 

Myth 2: Disadvantaged kids don’t benefit from private or charter schools

Opponents of expanded educational opportunity often argue that disadvantaged kids don’t benefit from it. The National Coalition for Public Education argues that not only because fewer students attend public schools, but also because the students themselves have to take on heavier time and economic costs in order to attend private and charter schools. They also argue that public schools are the facilities best equipped to serve diverse student populations, including minorities, students with special needs, and students from low-income areas.

But the previously cited Brookings Institution survey revealed that the majority of rural families do have reasonable access to a private school. also shows that disadvantaged students do, indeed, benefit from expanded educational opportunity. Students in charter schools tend to perform better academically than their peers in public schools. What’s more, low-income and ethnic minority students showed the most significant academic gains when enrolled in charter schools.

Keep in mind, too, that ESAs would allow parents to allocate funds to their children’s specific educational needs. That means families can use those funds to choose a school that is the best fit for that child. While lobbying groups and district superintendents may argue that state-funded schools are the best equipped to handle those needs, parents are ultimately the primary authority on what their children need to be successful.

Ultimately, giving families more educational options has a positive impact on long-term results, academic achievement, and parental satisfaction.

Myth 3: Educational opportunity could hurt — not help — rural communities

Yet another argument against opening up educational opportunity is that it could hurt rural communities. In reality, though, it’s rural districts that fear losing students to private or charter schools. This isn’t a partisan issue — in fact, legislators on both sides of the aisle have argued against educational opportunity in rural areas.

They often make these arguments on behalf of superintendents, who claim that educational opportunity will have on their districts. For example, rural superintendents often argue that important will be lost as a result of tools like ESAs. Cuts in state funding could lead to, resulting in fewer public school resources and causing employees in the district to lose their jobs.

However, recent data out of Florida — a state with strong educational opportunity — shows that ESAs have a positive impact on families in rural communities. As of the 2021-2022 school year, there had been a 10.6% enrollment increase in rural charter, private, and homeschool students in comparison to the previous decade. Private school scholarships had boomed, coming in at 6,992 in 2021-2022 as opposed to 1,706 in 2011-2012.

On top of all that, the demand for private schools has resulted in the creation of more. Over the past two decades, Florida’s rural private schools have almost doubled, from 69 to 120. Arguably, any jobs lost in a public school district as a result of educational opportunity could be replaced by the expansion of private school availability in any given area.

Ultimately, giving families more educational options has a positive impact on long-term results, academic achievement, and parental satisfaction. As parents and students are a part of their rural communities, it’s difficult to argue that these outcomes are detrimental to the areas in which they live.

The post Why educational opportunity is good for rural areas, too appeared first on For Opportunity.

Did you know that one-in-five families switched the school their child attended during the pandemic?

That 20% figure might seem remarkable given that it covers just a two-year period, from March 2020 to May 2022. That remarkable statistic of more than 5,000 parents, conducted by the Harris Poll in May 2022. The poll not only documented whether parents switched schools, but their reasons for doing so and whether they ended up happy with their choice.

On that note, the poll found that 89% of parents whose children have switched school types report that they or their child experienced a positive change as a result of the switch.

The pandemic changed everything

Clearly, the seismic changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted millions of families to switch up their approach to education. The demand for alternatives to traditional public schools is evident here in Ģ����Ƶ. For example, charter schools experienced a 5% increase in enrollments during the pandemic, while traditional public school enrollments dipped by 2%.

We’re excited to see the growth of schools like DeKalb Brilliance Academy, a new charter school serving the Decatur area, and, a private school serving students in some of the poorest zip codes in the Atlanta area. Also encouraging is the number of families continuing to homeschool even after classrooms have re-opened. A silver lining of the pandemic is that parents’ eyes have been opened to the many alternative educational options available to them.

The bottom line is that public education should be about ensuring all students have access to a quality school. As parents exercise their rights and choose the schools that best meet the needs of their child, it is imperative that leadership in the state and country respond with legislation that supports and does not hinder the needs of students and parents. The pandemic changed everything and policymakers must respond.

We are hopeful that lawmakers will pass Promise Scholarship Accounts in the upcoming legislative session.

What’s next

That’s why we are hopeful that lawmakers will pass Promise Scholarship Accounts in the upcoming legislative session. The version of the bill introduced in the last legislative session would give each student $6,000 to be used on an approved education expense, such as private school tuition, tutoring, homeschool curriculum, virtual classes, college classes, therapies (for kids with special needs), or technology.

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Educational Flexibility Even Stronger

By Benjamin Scafidi��

With respect to school openings during this COVID-19 pandemic, a public health professor recently , “There are no ideal solutions here. No matter what schools do, they won’t make everyone happy.” Of course, that is true in the monolithic K-12 education system we have now.�� But we can move away from a monolithic system. We can move to a system that empowers parents with more choices.

Calls for giving families choice in K-12 education go back to in the Rights of Man, in On Liberty, and—the modern father of choice in education—. Instead of giving government exclusive control over taxpayer funds for the education of youth, Paine, Mill, and Friedman suggested that taxpayer funds should go directly to families of school-aged children—where families would decide where their children are educated. The core issue is this: Who decides how taxpayer funds for education are spent—the government, as is largely the case now, or families?

Many reasons to support expanded educational opportunity

There are so many reasons to give families more choice in K-12 education. The balance of the extensive empirical research finds that choice programs have improved student achievement and educational attainment for students who exercise choice and improved outcomes for students who remain in public schools.��Further, private schools appear to do a better job of providing students with important civic virtues like tolerance and volunteerism, and private school choice programs have promoted integration. And choice programs, including Ģ����Ƶ’s tax credit scholarship program, have been designed to save taxpayers money.��

Giving parents control over where their children are educated allows them to choose school and non-school offerings that are tailored to their children’s interests and needs. Under such a choice system, prospective schools and other education providers are incentivized to provide customized educational and social environments that meet the interests and needs of students and their families. And the evidence—including evidence here in Ģ����Ƶ—suggests that families that exercise choice are overwhelmingly much happier with the services in their students new schools of choice.��

In this era of COVID-19, there are now additional reasons to support educational opportunity—families have different health risk��tolerances; families, students, and teachers have different underlying health conditions; and families have different health preferences. Public school districts going fully online do not permit families to sort their children into schools (and teachers to sort into schools) based on their varying health preferences. When entire public school districts go entirely online, they are providing what many families desire, but they are not providing what many other families want or need.��

As an example, a family with (a) one parent who can stay at home or work part-time from home; (b) a family member with an underlying health condition; and (c) older children may be that their public school is fully online.

However, other families may not be happy with fully online schools. A family with one parent who works full-time outside the home; (b) young children; and (c) no underlying health concerns may desire five-day, full-day, face-to-face schooling with safety precautions. Online schooling may force some parents to . Of course, families of children with may be subject to the most hardships with online schooling.

It is impossible for a one-size-fits-all approach to health concerns to meet the needs of all families. Meeting the diverse educational and social needs and interests of children—and now the differing health needs of students and their families in this era of COVID-19—is only possible in a choice system.��

What can states do to provide more educational choice to families?��

First, to the extent permitted by federal law, states should use existing and forthcoming federal education funds to offer families choice. are using federal CARES funding to provide scholarships for school-aged children. South Carolina is providing scholarships to defray private school tuition costs up to $6,500 for 5,000 students from low- and middle-income families, where $6,500 is of what taxpayers spend to educate students in their public schools.��

Second, states should or expand .

The track record of existing education choice programs in the United States is strong. COVID-19 only makes the case for choice stronger. Hopefully, policymakers will rise to the occasion and give students and families an educational lifeline during these challenging times.��

EVERY CHILD WITH ACCESS TO A QUALITY EDUCATION

A quality education is key to a child’s future success. Academic achievement paves the way to a good job, self-sufficiency, and the earned success we all want for our children. To learn more about education options in Ģ����Ƶ click here.��

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Every day we are greeted by options—from the many products available through local grocery stores to the millions of apps available on smartphones. So, why would we expect anything different in education?

As Ģ����Ƶ’s schoolchildren head back to class this month, it’s a question worth pondering: Should education be a one-size-fits-all issue? For many students, their locally zoned and assigned school is indeed the best option. But other families need alternative options to help their children succeed.

Students in poverty��

Think of students like those in Atlanta’s 30314 zip code, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas in the country.

This small slice of Atlanta accounts for six out of every 10 murders in the city. In just this one ZIP Code alone, about 40 percent of people live below the poverty line. And the median household income is just $25,000 a year.

While we all want to see public schools improve in this area, that cause will take years if not decades. Meanwhile, more and more students will fall behind and, in many cases, into a life of crime.

For students in the 30314, we can’t afford to wait another day, another week, another month, or another year. They need options right now—options like , a school specifically designed to give kids a solid shot at getting the good education they need to thrive in life and succeed as adults.

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Students with special needs

Or take the example of students with special needs. In many instances, local schools are ill-equipped to handle the unique needs of these students. That was certainly the case for Cammie Alkire and her daughter, Savannah, who has had severe learning disabilities from an early age.

Cammie calls Savannah “her million-dollar child” because that’s how all of the medical care and therapies have cost over the years.

Although the Alkires support the local public school system (Cammie is a graduate of Forsyth County Public Schools), they weren’t willing to subject Savannah to another year of bullying in order to qualify for Ģ����Ƶ’s Special Needs Scholarship.

Today, Savannah is enrolled in a small private Christian school that’s meeting her unique needs. But the Alkires struggle each month to meet the cost of her care entirely on their own.

“These are the kids who fall through the cracks. They get bullied. They turn out to be cutters. They are emotionally and mentally struggling, but not screaming loud enough to hear. And our government refuses to extend any type of financial help to these parents,” Cammie shared with us.

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A way forward

Every child is different. That’s why we come alongside families to support the best possible choices for their children, rather than pigeonhole them into only one choice.

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