A banner year for educational choice

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed a problem endemic to the U.S. public education system—one size does not fit all students. Since March 2020, families have been largely at the mercy of their assigned schools’ reactions to the virus. Online classrooms, disrupted scheduling, and mask mandates have exacerbated preexisting learning needs among students. Frustrated parents have sought alternatives, and homeschooling and learning pods spread rapidly. But families without adequate resources or flexibility were stuck.

In 2021, many state policymakers set out to change that—and to remarkable success. Nineteen states have enacted or expanded educational choice options this year. This means more families dissatisfied with their assigned school can choose another option with education funding in hand.

These policies are steps toward a fundamental reorientation of education financing. They direct dollars to the student, rather than the system, and give parents real decision-making authority in keeping with their God-given responsibility to direct their children’s upbringing and education. Child-centered education funding has taken the form of vouchers, tax credits and deductions, and tuition scholarship organizations in recent decades. But the newest and most promising mechanism to date for dollars to follow students is the education savings account.

Education savings accounts (ESAs) for K-12 students appeared on the scene 10 years ago. This option allows parents to direct a portion of their state’s per-pupil school funding to the educational options they determine are most appropriate for their own children. Two improvements make ESAs superior to earlier parental choice options.

First, ESAs allow families to customize their children’s education to their needs. Unlike vouchers, which can only be redeemed at a single school, the account-based model allows parents to mix and match the educational environments and tools that work best for their children. Parents aren’t limited to choosing traditional schools. Nor do they need to spend all funds on a single education option. They can use the account to pay for education-related expenses like tuition, tutoring, textbooks, educational therapy, or transportation—or any combination of these as long as the money lasts.

Customization also allows changes in a child’s education year-to-year. ESAs are ideal for calibrating resources over the course of a student’s academic development as individual needs vary over time. They also provide inoculation against educational disruption like that caused by the pandemic. When parents are in charge of the funds, they can make real-time decisions about their children’s education and ward off the kind of educational languishing we’ve seen over the last two years.

The second improvement over prior choice mechanisms is that the ESAs encourage good stewardship. Any funds remaining in the account can be rolled over from year to year, including savings for college expenses. The model encourages parents to spend (and save) wisely on the most appropriate options for their children.

Education savings accounts debuted in Arizona in 2011, first serving students with disabilities. Spreading to other states, ESAs have served special-need and low-income students. Twenty-three states considered ESA proposals this year. A total of ten states now offer such accounts to some portion of their K-12 students.

West Virginia opened a new frontier by enacting a nearly universal education savings account program in early 2021. More than 90 percent of the students in the state can take advantage of the opportunity, known as Hope Scholarships. Each participating student’s family will receive $4,600 in their account during the first year of the program. By making Hope Scholarships available to almost all students, West Virginia has made a significant stride toward student-centered education funding.

This has been a banner year for educational choice, and its momentum has every prospect of rolling into 2022. Frustration with the status quo was evident in the Virginia governor’s race in early November, after parents were told by one candidate that they should not have more say in their children’s education.

But America will be stronger when parents are free to decide the right educational choices for their children—and to direct education dollars toward those choices.