Eight thousand families who signed up for education savings accounts in Nevada will remain in effective legal limbo for another year after Nevada lawmakers withheld funding for the program in the 2018 budget. An education savings account (ESA) would allow students, regardless of income, to apply for about $5,000 in state funds to pay for education-related expenses, including tutoring, special therapies, and private school. Most other ESA programs are open only to students from low-income families or students with special needs.

Nevada lawmakers approved the program in 2015, but it immediately faced a legal challenge from teachers unions who said it would undermine the public school system. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of the program last year but said lawmakers couldn’t fund it by taking money away from public schools.

Republican plans to rework the funding mechanism took a detour when Democrats regained control of both the state House and Senate in November. GOP lawmakers continued to push for ESA funding, but Democrats refused to budge. After some last-minute wrangling over the weekend, Republicans agreed to drop ESA funding in exchange for a one-time, $20 million payment to the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program for low-income students.

The Nevada School Choice Partnership vowed to keep fighting. School choice advocates tout ESAs as the best way to give parents control over their students’ education because, unlike vouchers, the funds aren’t limited to a particular type of school. Despite enthusiasm for ESAs among many conservative groups, the programs haven’t fared well this legislative session.

The only win came from Arizona, which expanded its Empowerment Scholarship Account program to all of the state’s 1.1 million students. But as in Nevada, funding problems will limit implementation. Only 5,500 students will be allowed to sign up each year, with enrollment capped at no more than 30,000 by 2022.

Efforts to implement ESAs in other states, including Missouri and Texas, failed to gain traction. School choice advocates have put much emphasis on lobbying lawmakers, but they need to redouble efforts to sell the idea to parents—the most effective lobbyists. In last week’s column I mentioned a poll showing Americans are open to more school choice programs even though they know little about them. If advocates can convince parents they need ESAs, legislation will follow.

Free speech fiasco

Classes at a small private university in Olympia, Wash., resumed Monday after protests and threats led to a three-day shutdown. The furor at Evergreen State College began last month when a professor wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal criticizing a school event that asked white students to leave campus to talk about race. The school had previously held an annual “Day of Absence,” during which minority students held off-campus discussions.

Biology professor Bret Weinstein, who is white, objected to “challenged coercive segregation by race.” He tried to make a distinction between a group of students voluntarily leaving campus versus another group being asked to leave. Critics quickly denounced Weinstein as a racist, and protests followed. Students demanded the school fire Weinstein, and the campus police chief told the professor she couldn’t protect him. To avoid the angry mob, which at one point barricaded the library with furniture, Weinstein held his class last week in a nearby public park.

On Thursday, an anonymous caller to the Thurston County Communications Center announced plans for an armed attack on campus. Administrators canceled classes and didn’t resume instruction until Monday. University President George Bridges issued a statement Friday insisting the school would not fire any faculty member based solely on student requests. But since Weinstein’s detractors have accused him of discrimination, administrators will conduct a “full investigation.”

Free speech advocates at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education note the Evergreen situation mirrors similar problems at other universities, where intolerance for differences of opinion has reached a fevered pitch. Others have noted the irony of the ire against Weinstein, who last made headlines for speaking out against racism as a college student. —L.J.

Ivy League immaturity

Ten high school graduates who thought they were headed to Harvard University in the fall have to find a new Ivy League home in which to hang their hats. Harvard revoked the students’ admissions offers after they posted offensive internet memes in a private Facebook group open only to members of the incoming freshman class. The Admissions and Financial Aid Office started a Facebook group for new students, a common practice at many universities. But a small group of students formed an offshoot group where they could share “R-rated” content. Posts reportedly included racists jokes and memes mocking sexual assault, genocide, and the deaths of children. Although the university would not comment on the situation, the school’s admissions policy notes students can lose their invitations to attend if they engage in “behavior that brings into question their honesty, maturity, or moral character.” This stunt certainly meets two of the three criteria. —L.J.

Impromptu pomp and circumstance

A New York City nursing student stuck on a subway got a special graduation ceremony last week after mechanical trouble stranded his train deep under Queens. When it became obvious Jerich Alcantara would not get to walk across the stage at Hunter College, his friend and fellow passengers created an impromptu ceremony for him. Alcantara dressed in his cap and gown and even collected a mock diploma. —L.J.