Texas Public Policy Foundations’s Mandy Drogin and The Heritage Foundation’s Dr. Matthew Ladner recently discussed the success of the different school choice programs across the country, and promoted school choice as the best option for Texas kids.
Drogin and Ladner first addressed the myths that the program is killing public education in the state of Arizona.
“This entire story about destroying public education is absolutely absurd,” Ladner told Drogin.
“The funding for K-12 education is guaranteed in all state constitutions, and the public strongly supports that guarantee, okay? No one even proposes doing away with that.”
Arizona was the first state to implement a school choice program in 1994 when legislation passed to allow charter schools and to make it easier for kids to attend schools outside of their school district.
In 2022, a universal school choice program was signed into Arizona law, allowing parents in the state to opt their children out of public school and use an education savings account to place them elsewhere. Students are able to receive up to $6,500 from the ESA program towards a school of their choice.
Ladner explained that after Arizona passed school choice, the state’s test scores have risen, and school funding is at an all-time high. He also brought up the positive effects school choice has had on children in rural areas.
“When you look at rural Arizona’s academic results, they’ve improved. And not only that, every single school district that was educating kids back in 1993 before we started all this school choice stuff is still educating kids now,” said Ladner.
Dorgin and Ladner also discussed how school choice laws affect homeschooling, a major concern raised by current homeschooling families. They said that when universal school choice legislation was being crafted in Arizona, great detail was taken with the language used to protect the rights of homeschoolers.
“The language that was worked out basically created a legal distinction between participating in an ESA program and homeschooling. You could do one, you can do the other, but you can’t do both,” explained Ladner.
“The danger of potential regulatory creep is real, and it must be vigilantly monitored and fought for,” he added.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced in early November that passing school choice is his top priority for the upcoming legislative session.
State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) has filed a universal school choice bill, House Bill 212, for the upcoming session.
The first day of the 89th Texas legislative session is January 14, 2025.
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