The Teachers Union had no idea what the consequences would be when it denied students access to classroom learning during the Covid pandemic. Parents actually got to see what their children were being taught, and many parents did not like what they saw. Private school enrollment grew, and the gap between the education children at the middle-income level and the lower-income level received increased. For the most part, private and religious schools remained open, and their students remained in the classroom. Some states decided it was time to provide everyone with a quality education in the setting of their choice.
On Friday, The Federalist reported:
On Tuesday, Iowa became the second state in the country to pass universal school choice, directly providing families with funds to support their children’s education. Arizona was the trendsetter for this new wave of educational freedom after Gov. Doug Ducey signed universal school choice into law on July 7, 2022.
Now the race is on to advance educational freedom, with several red states looking to follow suit. The significance of these developments can hardly be overstated. What was once a pipe dream for many education reformers — the enabling of school choice at scale during their lifetimes — is now becoming a reality.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, true to her word, wasted no time in the 2023 legislative session by introducing the Students First Act in her Condition of the State address on Jan. 10. Within two weeks, the bill was signed into law. It took less than 24 hours for debate in the House and Senate, followed by Reynolds’ signing. The education savings account (ESA) program will provide parents with approximately $7,600 annually to allocate toward approved educational avenues. Most families are eligible in years one and two, and the benefit will be extended to all families statewide in year three.
The programs actually save money:
ESA programs not only afford parents options outside of government-run, union-controlled public schools, but they save the state money because typically only a portion of the student state funding is provided. For example, in Arizona, instead of upwards of $12,000 spent per student within the public system, the ESA provided to families is only $7,000.
These programs introduce competition into education. The schools that are providing the best education will prosper. Schools that are not educating our children will not be funded. I would love to see similar laws in all fifty states. Needless to say, Teachers Unions are fighting back.