Two States Now Have Universal School Choice — And Yours Could Be Next

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. After Gov. Doug Ducey signed the universal school choice law on July 7, 2022. 

The race to increase educational freedom is on with many red states looking to join the ranks. These developments are of vital importance. 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 kept her word and introduced the Students First Act in the Condition of the State Address on Jan. 10, 2023. In just two weeks, the bill had been passed. 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 give parents approximately $7,600 per year to use towards approved educational avenues. The benefit is available to most families in year one. In year two, it will be available to all families in the state.

However, power beholden to leftist teachers’ unions shouldn’t be taken for granted. Arizona is a pioneer state and the new Democratic governor. Katie Hobbs seeks to undo In her 2023 budget proposal, she included the universal school voucher expansion law. Given the Republican control of both state legislative bodies, her proposal could suffer the same fate that her disastrously unsuccessful veto referendum which sought to prevent the law from going into effect last fall while she was secretary. For a politician, Hobbs is remarkably insensitive to the views of Arizona voters, 67 percent of whom support the state’s ESA program (the number jumps to 77 percent of Arizona parents of school-aged children).

States with a Republican governor, and GOP majorities both in their House and Senate are leading the charge to give parents more options. The goal is universal school choice — through ESAs — to provide flexibility for families to select their desired educational avenue. The funds can be used to cover school tuition, homeschool expenses and tutoring.

ESA programs offer parents alternatives to public school systems that are union-run and controlled by the government. They also save money for the state because only a small portion of student state funding is available. Arizona’s example is that instead of spending $12,000 per student within the public school system, the ESA provides $7,000.

As universal school choice becomes more popular, many states may be in the final stretch of the race.

Florida The country’s leader in school choice has been the University of California, Berkeley. Nearly half of its students have chosen to study in an alternative school. Current legislation calls to universal enrollment.