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The Hill
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump's challenge to Democrats on school choice: Put up or shut up
On Independence Day, President Trump signed into law the biggest expansion of universal private school choice in American history. In its reporting, the New York Times inexplicably characterized a last-minute amendment limiting Education Savings Accounts only to states that opt-in as a ' win for Democrats and teachers' unions,' because blue states would presumably choose not to participate. Although American Federation of Teachers president and recently resigned DNC member Randi Weingarten may view the denial of school choice to blue state parents as a 'win,' I doubt working class voters would agree. In fact, that 'win' represents a political landmine for Democrats. I am skeptical about the wisdom of Trump's Education Savings Accounts plan, but I must admit that I am only typing this sentence because of a scholarship I received to attend a private school many years ago. When I was 16, my alcoholic father committed suicide. I vividly remember going to school the first day after my dad's funeral feeling overwhelmed, numb and embarrassed. And I remember how my teachers made me feel safe and seen in a way that altered the trajectory of my life. My younger brother wasn't so lucky. He went to a different school when our dad died and joined a gang after dropping out. I have seen firsthand the impact of education dancing on the razor's edge of a child's life. That's why I do what I do. So I respect leaders like Democrats for Education Reform chief Jorge Elorza, who are driving the voucher debate. But I have a healthy skepticism about the public policy implications of scaling a wild-west national Education Savings Account plan with few regulatory guardrails to ensure educational quality — not to mention separation of church and state red flags or my belief in the promise of public education. Policy concerns aside, voters now face a stark color-coded national split-screen. In red states, you get free money for the school of your choice. In blue states, you get what you get and you don't get upset. Listening to teachers union leaders like Weingarten and her allies, you'd think charter schools were created in an underground right-wing laboratory as part of a secret plot to ' privatize ' public education. In fact charter schools were originally proposed in 1988 by her own American Federation of Teachers predecessor Al Shanker. I worked in the White House for President Bill Clinton, who proudly ran on charter schools when only one existed in America. President Barack Obama later scaled high-quality charters as part of his bold Race to the Top agenda. Charters are public schools, which means they are free and secular, cannot have admission requirements, and have strict regulatory controls on educational quality. That doesn't sound like a Republican plot to destroy public education to me. I am a longtime public school parent. My daughters have attended our great neighborhood Los Angeles Unified School District school, as well as multiple high-quality public charters. But we literally had to win a lottery to get into their charter schools. That's because California caps charter growth, since many charters are not unionized, as a Democratic Party favor to teachers unions. Amongst progressive issues outside education that Weingarten and I agree upon is that Trump is a threat to democracy. That's exactly why the time is now for a Democratic moonshot to translate 'high-quality public schools' from a soundbite into a civil right. In debating this abundance moonshot, the onus is on Democrats like me who are skeptical about Education Savings Accounts to articulate a compelling alternative that can win back working class voters. Weingarten, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have rightly championed universal preschool, free community college and student loan relief. But the entire K-12 experience of a child is conveniently missing from that agenda. In addition to scaling high-quality public school choice, our moonshot must span preschool to post-secondary, pivot from 'equity' to 'quality,' and put parents — not party interests — at the center. This begins with eliminating school attendance boundaries that trap children in failing schools; expanding high-quality career and technical education; universal tutoring for the COVID generation; endorsement of science of reading; and finishing the job of Brown v. Board of Education by codifying high-quality public schools as a civil right for all children in America. The good news for my party is that Democrats have a strong bench of national leaders with a record of challenging party orthodoxy. That was a feature — not a bug — of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama's success as the only two-term Democratic presidents since Franklin Roosevelt. The bad news is that while Democrats have dithered for a decade under Biden, Harris and Weingarten, Republicans have been formulating a bold vision for American education with obvious appeal for the same working class voters Democrats need to win back. The ball is decidedly now in our court. Democratic leaders must volley with a viable vision that speaks to the urgent needs of working-class parents — not just to do the right thing for kids, but also to win back power. For the sake of American democracy, Democrats must not concede education Independence Day to Trump.
Associated Press
09-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Access to ESA and School Choice Funds Expanded for Veritas Press Families
Classical Christian education company expands access to Educational Savings Accounts and other funding options in 12 states, with more on the way. 'The opportunity to use ESA and School Choice funds allows parents to make the best educational decisions for their children, and Veritas is dedicated to making these options available...'— Dr. Bob Cannon, Veritas Scholars Academy Headmaster LANCASTER, PA, UNITED STATES, July 9, 2025 / / -- Veritas Press, a classical Christian education program and leading curriculum provider for kindergarten through twelfth grade, is partnering with 12 states to offer families access to Education Savings Accounts (ESA), school choice funds, and tax credits for its educational programs. New partnerships in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah and Wyoming join existing access in Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, Virginia, and West Virginia, bringing the total to 12 states. The company is actively expanding to additional states to further broaden access. Veritas is an approved provider for ESA fund allocation in these states. ESAs provide parents with an authorized, publicly funded savings account for educational expenses. These funds can be used tax-free for a variety of academic needs, including school tuition, tutoring, online education programs, and instructional materials. Each state operates its own unique ESA program, offering flexibility for families. Veritas curriculum can also be covered by other options like school choice funds and tax credit programs on a state-by-state basis. 'As we continue to expand our involvement in these programs, we are excited to see more families gain access to vital resources that support their children's education,' said Dr. Bob Cannon, Headmaster of Veritas Scholars Academy. 'The opportunity to use ESA and School Choice funds allows parents to make the best educational decisions for their children, and Veritas is dedicated to making these options available in as many states as possible to empower families with more choice and flexibility.' Programs like these provide parents flexibility for a wide range of options, so they can choose a learning setting that aligns with the student's needs. These funding choices help offer parents greater control over their child's education, empowering them to choose the most suitable educational path. See the various options here: Veritas will continue working to facilitate access to ESAs and other approved funding options across more states for families seeking a classical Christian education. For more information, families can schedule time for a free consultation HERE. About Veritas Press With more than 10,000 students taking online classes, Veritas Press is an award-winning classical Christian education organization that provides homeschooling families and schools with best-in-class curricula for tens of thousands more. In addition, Veritas offers the fully accredited Veritas Scholars Academy, which uses the Veritas Press curricula to educate students through flexible, self-paced courses and live online classes. By combining innovative technology with a classical Christian education, their rigorous program—taught by highly credentialed and experienced teachers—raises the standard of education to ensure children are prepared for life in all areas. Learn more at Art Siegert Veritas Press +1 706-289-6138 [email protected] Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube X Other Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic Debate Over Private School Choice Reveals Post-Election Tensions
For 11 years, Jennifer Walmer led Democrats for Education Reform Colorado, the state chapter of the national organization that advocates for school choice. Among the biggest wins of her tenure, she counts increases in charter funding and twice electing Democrat and school reformer Gov. Jared Polis as governor. After serving as chief of staff for the Denver Public Schools, she fully expected to finish her career at DFER. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter 'We worked hard to build power in the Democratic Party specifically around accountability, choice and the role of public charter schools,' she said. 'Everything had always been grounded 100% in public education.' But last year, she said she 'saw the writing on the wall' when the organization's leader embraced Education Savings Accounts and other forms of private school choice. She is among several who have since left the group over the issue. In a May 5 policy paper, DFER CEO Jorge Elorza, former two-term mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, suggested that instead of 'rejecting them offhand,' his party should explore how ESAs can advance Democratic values like uplifting needy families and protecting civil rights. Eighteen Republican-led states now have such programs, which parents can use for private school tuition or homeschooling. Most Democrats say vouchers and ESAs lack accountability and threaten funding for public schools. To Alisha Searcy, who joined DFER just last year, Elorza's about-face felt like a betrayal. 'DFER has done extraordinary work to get courageous Democrats elected to push bold policies that would truly improve public education,' said the former Georgia state legislator. She was hired last year to expand the organization's reach into her state, Alabama and Tennessee, but resigned in May. 'We need a strong Democratic voice, now more than ever. This move to embrace vouchers and ESAs is the exact opposite.' Related The issue has brought bubbling to the surface a debate that was previously restricted to Democratic backrooms. Elorza took the helm of DFER at a time when polls began to show that voters were losing confidence in Democrats as the party they most trusted on education. Parents, the surveys suggested, were more preoccupied with whether their kids were recovering from pandemic learning loss than how schools were teaching issues of race or gender in the classroom. The soul searching only intensified in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's election. Founded in 2007, DFER always advocated for wider public school options. Leaders worked with the Obama administration and reform-minded Democrats to support policies like magnet schools, dual enrollment and lifting state caps on charter schools. Now, Republicans and their push for parental rights are dominating the education conversation, including a recent proposal to enact a national tax credit for private school choice. Elorza is among those who say the party needs to be open to more options for families if it's going to regain its edge with voters, especially parents. But he recognizes the risks. 'There are a lot of Democrats who are choice curious,' he told The 74. 'They'll say privately that they're open to the idea of choice, including private school choice, but that the politics of it are just so darn challenging.' In a recent op-ed, he pointed to Pennsylvania as the best opportunity for a swing state to pass an ESA program. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro came close to supporting such a bill in 2023. Some observers say Shapiro and Elorza are outliers in the party. During the Obama years, DFER 'nudged' the party toward school reform policies like merit pay for teachers and maintaining strong assessment systems, said David Houston, an assistant education professor at George Mason University in Virginia. But now it's 'further from the center of Democratic politics.' The recent departure of other DFER staff offers further evidence that Elorza's position doesn't reflect the Democratic mainstream. Will Andras served as political director in Colorado for Education Reform Now, a think tank affiliated with DFER that Elorza also leads. Andras left last year, shortly after DFER joined the No More Lines Coalition, a group of organizations that advocate for open enrollment and removing school attendance boundaries. The member organizations, funded largely by the conservative Koch network, also support vouchers and ESAs. In his resignation letter, Andras referenced the change in direction since Elorza came on board in 2023. 'The last six months have shown that the organization I have devoted a substantial portion of my professional career to help build no longer aligns with my political or personal values,' he wrote. Jessica Giles, who led the D.C. chapter, posted similar words when she walked away in May. It's one of several chapters to close since Elorza became CEO. The Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and DFER South chapters have also shut down. Elorza said he respects their stance. 'There are a lot of folks who put a great deal of stock into this public-private distinction, and I think it comes from a principled place,' he said. 'But I truly believe that it is in the party's political best interest to be open minded to any approach that moves the needle for kids and families.' Related Backed by far-right billionaires, the private school choice movement has been on a winning streak since 2022, when Arizona passed the first universal ESA. 'The political winds are shifting,' Corey DeAngelis, a self-described 'school choice evangelist' and fellow at multiple think tanks, said at a conference in Atlanta in April. 'If Democrats are smart, they'll stop the Republicans from being able to pick up the football and win on this issue.' He pointed to Louisiana, where six House Democrats — one-fifth of the party's caucus — voted last year for the LA GATOR Scholarship, an ESA that starts this fall. One of them, Rep. Jason Hughes, passionately defended his vote on the House floor. 'As I watch children in poverty, trapped in failing schools, who can hardly read, I'll be damned if I will continue to defend the status quo,' he said. Rep. Marlene Terry, a Missouri Democrat, delivered an equally heartfelt speech in May after caucus leaders took away her committee assignments when she supported a $50 million increase to the state's ESA program. 'I will vote how I please, when I please and where I please,' she said. 'No one can take away my voice. I will not be silent.' While her own children attended public school, she said families in the St. Louis-area district she represents are frustrated that their schools have lacked full accreditation for 15 years. 'That's a long time for families to wait for improvement,' Terry told The 74. Riverview Gardens, a majority Black, high-poverty district, regained local control from the state in 2023, but leaders are still working to make continued gains in attendance and teacher retention. 'That's why I support giving families a range of high-quality public options, including public charter schools, and — when absolutely necessary — scholarships to attend other schools if no viable public options exist.' Some Democrats agree with Elorza that the party shouldn't distance legislators like Terry. In a recent blog, Virginia Board of Education Member Andy Rotherham, who served in the Clinton White House and co-founded Bellwether, a think tank, said Democrats need to welcome 'a much wider range of perspectives on these questions,' given school choice's surge in popularity since the pandemic. 'This is America — we like choice,' he wrote. 'Being on the wrong side of that culturally and politically is not a great place to be.' Related Using an ESA can be particularly uncomfortable for a lifelong Democrat — especially In Arizona, where Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has called the program a 'billion dollar boondoggle' and wants to set income caps on families using it. Kathy Visser, who administers a ESA Facebook group for parents and vendors, knows some who left the forum because they felt that it was 'not a safe space for Democrats.' 'I hate election time because it's always a mess in the group,' she said. 'People think we should be able to talk about ESAs without talking about politics, but when you've got one party so solidly entrenched against it, it's really hard.' Some Democrats who use ESAs say they hold their noses when it comes to other aspects of the Republican agenda. Christina Foster, whose daughter has used an ESA in the past, said she gets 'heart palpitations' when she has to decide on a candidate. She's board chair for Arizona's Black Mothers Forum, which runs microschools serving students using ESAs, and wants to protect the program. But in the 2024 election, she voted for Democrats. 'Some of those Republicans were not supportive of minority rights, immigration rights, women's rights. Those are very important to me,' she said. 'I said 'OK, unfortunately, I'm going to have to vote against the ESA.' For those within the traditional K-12 system, the choice to use an ESA can be tricky. As a kindergarten teacher in Arizona's Peoria district, Melanie Ford is familiar with anti-ESA talking points about how the program undermines funding for traditional schools and is susceptible to waste and fraud. But she overlooked those arguments when public school no longer seemed like a safe place for her transgender son Ash. He avoided using the bathroom all day because students said he didn't belong in the boys' or the girls' restroom. For the 2023-24 school year, Ash used an ESA to attend the Queer Blended Learning Center, a microschool for middle schoolers in Phoenix that incorporates LGBTQ history into the curriculum. Ford told her colleagues that despite her support of public schools, she had to think first about her son. Ash has since returned to a public high school, where he plays on a drumline in the marching band and has straight A's, his mother said. But using the ESA allowed him to transition in a more supportive setting. 'He didn't have to deal with the comments from peers that slowly rip a person apart from the inside out,' she said. 'He could grow into himself without judgement from others and this was so important for his mental health.' While some Democrats, as Elorza suggested, may think an ESA is the best option for their children, that interest hasn't risen to the national level. No Congressional Democrats, for example, have endorsed the federal Educational Choice for Children Act, the tax credit scholarship program tucked into the Republicans' reconciliation bill. In some states, vouchers remain unpopular, said Joshua Cowen, an education professor at Michigan State University and a strong opponent of directing public funds to private schools. He points to Kentucky, where 65% of voters rejected a private school choice measure last November. Coloradans also defeated a school choice-related proposition, and voters in Nebraska repealed a voucher program. While the Democratic party may embrace vouchers in the future, that day is a long way off, said Ravi Gupta, a former Obama staffer who runs a nonprofit media company. On an intellectual level, he's intrigued by ESAs. Democrats, he said, would never say Medicaid should only be used at a public hospital or Section 8 vouchers only in a housing project, so why doesn't the same principle apply to education? 'Twenty years from now, do I think that could be the reality?' he asked. 'I think it's very likely, but it will take some time.' Disclosure: The Charles Koch Foundation funds Stand Together Trust, which provides funding to The 74. Andy Rotherham sits on The 74's board of directors.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Senate advances $8.5 billion increase to public school funding
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Late on Thursday night, the Texas Senate advanced a heavily-amended version of House Bill 2 to a third reading, adding $8.5 billion in public school funding over the next two years. The agreement between the Senate and the House was announced to reporters on Wednesday afternoon, more than a month after HB 2 was initially passed on the same day the House passed Education Savings Accounts legislation. 'This historic funding focuses on what works: better-supported teachers, safer schools, and greater opportunities for every student to succeed,' State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said in a joint statement with seven other lawmakers. 'The majority of these funds go straight to the classroom—not bureaucracy—ensuring student success drives every decision. HB 2 also strengthens school operations and provides districts with the resources they need to balance their budgets in the long term. The plan reflects our Texas values: empowering educators, investing in students, and securing the future of our state's economy.' According to a release from Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, the $8.5 billion is broken down into several subcategories rather than investing a large increase in the basic allotment. The updated HB 2 establishes an 'Allotment for Basic Costs' (ABC), which districts can use for expenses such as insurance, utilities and teacher retirement system (TRS) contributions. $1.3 billion will go to the new ABC. Additionally, $850 million will go to 'overhaul special education,' and $430 million will go towards school safety. A key amendment added to the initial version of HB 2, which establishes a fully funded full-day pre-K program, was also included in the final compromise. 'If the Legislature were to pass just one of the major components in HB 2—be it record-setting teacher pay raises, full-day pre-K, or a long-overdue overhaul of special education—that would be a transformative victory in its own right,' State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, said. Bernal authored the full-day pre-K amendment in the House. 'But HB 2 delivers all of these reforms and more, and when taken together, they represent a truly landmark achievement for Texas public education,' Bernal said. One of Gov. Greg Abbott's seven emergency items at the beginning of the session was to increase teacher pay. The updated version of HB 2 sets aside $4.2 billion for permanent teacher and staff pay raises. The permanent raises come for teachers with over three years of experience, with an additional raise for those with over five years experience. In addition, HB 2 grows the Teacher Incentive Allotment program, expanding it to more teachers across the state. Lastly, the bill allows for up to an $8,000 bonus for rural teachers. ''This agreement represents a historic breakthrough for rural Texas—for far too long, small and mid-size districts have been asked to do more with less, and HB 2 directly responds to those challenges,' State Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, wrote. 'This bill will put rural Texas schools on stronger footing than ever before.' While the bill garnered praise from both sides of the aisle, not everyone shares the enthusiasm. 'This was a backroom deal. Members of the legislature in the House and in the Senate weren't involved in the creation of this new version of the school finance bill,' State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said. Talarico is a member of the House Public Education committee and a former classroom teacher. 'It angers me, because I came here to represent my constituents. I work with 150 members of the legislature who also are here to represent their constituents, and the fact that members of the House didn't get an opportunity to craft the details of this bill is an outrage.' Like most, Talarico had only been able to see the details as laid out by Burrow's staff. He took issue with the bill taking funds from the basic allotment and moving them to allotments with less flexibility. 'I think the state legislature is acting like the school board of Texas. They're trying to micromanage our local school communities across the state,' he said. 'The only way that we can keep schools open and that we can increase student performance is if we allow local communities to do the job that we're asking them to do without the state looking over their shoulders and micromanaging everything they do.' Talarico also has issues with the raw amount of new funding coming in, especially after the state dedicated $1 billion to ESAs — a program assisting families with private school tuition — earlier this session. 'This school finance package doesn't even catch us up to 2019 funding levels. We've had six years of rampant inflation,' he said. 'Most of our teachers are leaving the profession within the first five years, and within this package, those are the teachers who are getting the smaller pay raises — if they're getting any at all. Teachers who are under three years don't get any pay raise at all. We have a $24 billion budget surplus in this state. We have enough money to give an across-the-board teacher pay raise to every educator in our state and the Republican leaders in this Capitol refusing to do so. So this package is inadequate to the crisis that we face.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Spring ISD adapts budget to school voucher legislation
BIG SPRING, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Education Savings Accounts were a top priority for the Texas Legislature this session. Senate Bill 2 – which includes school vouchers – was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 3. Local school districts are now figuring out how to adapt to the new legislation and work it into their budgets before the next school year. Leaders at Big Spring ISD said it is hard to determine because it depends on the number of students leaving the district to attend a private school or homeschool. 'If a child does that, that means we lose that child from our district,' said Big Spring ISD Superintendent Jay McWilliams. 'They're going somewhere else. That hurts us in terms of our overall ADA, which is our average daily attendance. So if our attendance starts to drop because kids are taking advantage of that, that would definitely hurt us. It would be less money coming in from the state based on our average daily attendance.' The district also receives money from the state for students on a per-child basis. School officials said that amount has not increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We had kids out of school for months,' said McWilliams. 'A lot of kids didn't come back. They went the online option. They went the virtual option. That turned into a disaster for a lot of people. We've had inflation. It went crazy since 2019. The state has not added money to the basic allotment since 2019. We've had the same amount for six years. Even though the inflation rate, the cost of living has went through the roof. That's another thing that needs to be adjusted that would really affect our finances.' School officials have also been looking at the budget since early April to be proactive about any changes the new legislation could cause. 'The House wants to add $395 to the basic allotment. That's good, but it's not near enough. But it would be a great help. Right now we're hearing the senate, they're not wanting to do that. They're wanting to add maybe $50, which to us is a slap in the face. I'll just be honest. But you're working on a budget, you're trying to utilize to your best ability the money that we anticipate coming in, not only from the state, but from our mineral values and our property values,' said McWilliams. Superintendent McWilliams said he still believes in the value of a public education. 'I fully believe in public education. I know what it did for me, I know what it did for my kids, I know what it's doing for my three grandkids that are all in public schools. I would also say to the people or the noise on the outside that say 'nowadays I don't think I'd send my kids to public school,' until you've actually worked in a public school setting, until you've worked with the people that I've worked with, that I've been blessed to work with for all these years, I don't think you really know the dedication and professionalism and love for kids until you've been around them.' Big Spring ISD has been looking at the budget since early April to adapt to the new legislation. Teacher retention was a topic of the budget as well: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
