In a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) opinion piece, William McGurn detailed how school choice bills are becoming more popular as four states have already passed legislation embracing the Milton Friedman ideal that public funds should follow the student instead of going straight to public schools. Florida has new school choice legislation that embraces universal education savings accounts. Texas is in the process of attempting to pass an education savings account bill that would grant $8,000 per student for parents to use at their own discretion.
"It’s been a good year for Milton Friedman," McGurn said. "The Nobel Prize-winning economist has been dead for nearly two decades. But the moment has come for the idea that may prove his greatest legacy: Parents should decide where the public funds for educating their children go. Already this year, four states have adopted school choice for everyone—and it’s only April."
According to McGurn, Florida recently joined Iowa, Utah and Arkansas in passing school choice legislation for all children, marking a significant victory for Friedman's legacy. This idea was introduced by Friedman in 1955, but "it took years to catch on." State education funds will "follow the student" instead of going directly to public schools in most of these states. Oklahoma, Ohio, Wyoming and Texas have legislation pending, while Nebraska, South Carolina, Kansas and Pennsylvania are "working on more limited versions of school choice." Georgia's school choice bill did not pass, but McGurn suggested it may return next year.
“Florida is No. 1 when it comes to education freedom and education choice, and today’s bill signing represents the largest expansion of education choice in the history of these United States. When you combine private scholarships, charter schools and district choice programs, Florida already has 1.3 million students attending a school of their choosing,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, according to a March 28 press release. “These programs have been instrumental in elevating student achievement over the past 20 years."
McGurn suggests the growing popularity of school choice policies is due to parents' perception of public schools which changed during the pandemic. These parents discovered public schools' ineptitudes, leading to more support for Friedman's school choice idea. McGurn cited Asra Nomani, a Virginia parent who said: “For three years, school boards, activist educators and the teachers union machine have treated parents like dirt. Now, an entire swath of parents—immigrants, Democrats, single moms, military families, parents with kids with learning disabilities—are championing this idea they cared little about before: School choice.”
According to the Texas Tribune, lawmakers in Texas are debating on implementing a school choice program involving education savings accounts (ESAs). Senate Bill 8, which creates an ESA program with $8,000 per student while maintaining a "held harmless" clause for rural districts, is moving to the Texas Senate floor for debate.
“Educating the next generation of Texans is the most fundamental responsibility we have, and I authored Senate Bill 8 to place parents, not government, squarely in the center of the decisions for their children. Giving parents the power to determine the best school for their child will encourage competition and innovation, ensuring that each Texas student has the opportunity to succeed,” Sen. Brandon Creighton said, according to the Texas Senate website, Forest Country News reported.
