All across the country, legislatures are considering way to give families options

Tuesday, March 16

Multiple states are looking toward education options

Many states across the country have been considering legislation about education options in the past few months, including several states bordering Arkansas. The Missouri House of Representatives has passed an Education Savings Account (ESA) bill and is sending it to the Senate for vote. The House Education Committee in Oklahoma has passed through a school voucher bill to the House floor for a vote. Possibly the largest step for education choice being advanced throughout the nation is in West Virginia. Their bill would offer ESAs to approximately 95% of the entire state student population. The legislation has been passed out of the House and will now be heading to the Senate.

The Educational Freedom Institute keeps a table with updates on the legislation throughout the country. Click the button below for the latest updates!

See the tracker

EDUCATION HEADLINES

Parent explains how education options benefitted her family

Many families just like this one, who have children that would simply get lost in the shuffle of their schools benefit from educational choice programs.

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Commentary: Microschools could be answer for low-income Black students

Microschools offer families and students a great alternative to the education systems that have been failing them for generations.

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Union labels: Another bill lawmakers should pass

Sen. Ballinger’s bill SB341 would help to give the power back to parents within the public school system.

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Bill seeks tax credit program private-school scholarships

HB1371 offers not only funding for scholarships, but up to 6 million dollars in grants to public schools. The bill would be a net gain to the state budget.

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Arkansas Succeed Scholarship success stories

"The SucceedScholarship has been such a blessing to our family & Sam. He has thrived with smaller class sizes & his teacher & supporting staff are just a email or phone call away with quick responses."- Katie, parent

The legislature established this overwhelming popular program in 2015 without a single dissenting vote.

38 schools across Arkansas participate
665 scholarships have been awarded
Scholarship cap for 20-21 is $7,018 per student
97% parent satisfaction rate from survey

We are proud to administer the program for the state with 100% of all state funding going directly to scholarships. All administrative costs of managing the scholarship for the state is paid for through a private philanthropic grant.

Click here to read more success stories from real students who have benefitted from this amazing education freedom program.

Education bills of interest to our network

HB1371 - creates a new dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit program for individuals and businesses that contribute toward either flexible private-school scholarship accounts or grants for public schools serving predominantly low-income populations of students.
Status: In House Education Committee
SB89 - Changes the IEP requirements for the Succeed Scholarship and establishes a lottery program for selection if applications exceed available scholarships.
Status: In Senate Education Committee
HB1446 - Opens the Succeed Scholarship to all children of active duty military members.
Status: In House Education Committee
SB25 - Schools do not have to count a student for the 3% cap of public school choice if a student has gone to the district for preschool.
Status: Amended and referred back to Senate Education Committee
HB1237 - Schools would have an option to provide virtual options permanently. The school year would be amended to not start before the Monday before Labor Day, and schools would have the option to implement an alternate school calendar.
Status: Amended and referred back to House Education Committee
HB1464: Provides a mechanism for parents to bring their concerns over instructional material and activities in the classroom to the district/school administration.
Status: Passed out of House. Sent to the Senate Education Committee

We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring every K-12 student in Arkansas has equal access to a world class education. Our mission is to create a network of parent and community leaders so every policy decision and every conversation about education starts and ends with how it impacts our kids.

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