by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Mar 14, 2016
Last week, the Virginia senate passed what could become the nation’s sixth education savings account law, pending a governor’s signature. HB 389 would allow children with special needs to apply for an account. With an account, Virginia would deposit a portion of a child’s funds from the state formula in a private bank account that parents would use to buy educational products and services for their children.
Virginia’s proposal is similar to laws enacted in Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Education savings accounts in these states allow families to use a child’s account to customize a child’s learning experience with online classes, private school tuition, curricular materials like textbooks, and, critically for children with special needs, educational therapy like speech and occupational therapy.
In Virginia, 13 percent of students—some 161,000 children—have special needs and could use an account to find educational services to help them succeed. As this blog has explained previously, Arizona families are hiring individual tutors to help children with autism, students who were struggling to learn basic skills prior to using an account. Others are combining public school extracurricular activities with home-based instruction, which gives children the chance to interact with their peers and learn in a setting that meets their needs. Such opportunities give hope to children and their parents.
Education savings accounts also provide lawmakers with a solution for large, statewide policy issues looming on the horizon.
Research from Matthew Ladner, Ph.D. at the Foundation for Excellence in Education finds that Virginia and Georgia have something in common: High age-dependency ratios. For Virginia, their score of +19 means the state has a “high percentage of people out of the workforce and a relatively small percentage of people trying to cover the costs of their education, retirement, and health care.”
The U.S. Census projects that Virginia’s public school enrollment will increase by 300,000 students over the next 15 years while the population of adults over 65 will almost double. The expansion in these two sectors will put a strain on taxpayer-funded services in education and health care.
Georgia finds itself in a similar position. Georgia’s +16 score is slightly below the national average of +17, but still points to a future where fewer people are pulling the cart of social programs and increasing numbers are sitting in the cart. The Census estimates Georgia’s student population will increase by a half-million students, while its elderly population will increase by nearly 1 million.
Education savings accounts and other private school choice options like tax credit scholarships (already available in Virginia and Georgia) will help ease the pressure on taxpayers who would be asked to pay for new district school buildings and public school staff. Parental choice in education comes at a significant discount compared to district school services. In Arizona, education savings accounts for children with special needs are worth 90 percent of what is spent on these children in traditional schools while, on average, mainstream students’ accounts amount to 50-60 percent of what taxpayers spend per child in district schools.
Virginia and Georgia badly need solutions like these. Education savings accounts improve the quality of life for participating families and can provide students with choices as the demands for public services increase.
Jonathan Butcher is education director at the Goldwater Institute and senior fellow at the Beacon Center of Tennessee.
by Kimberly Sawatka | Feb 22, 2016
As a military brat sacrifice was my middle name. My siblings and I spent many family events, recitals, school plays, family dinners and holidays without my dad. We became exceptionally good at packing up our lives every couple of years and starting over in a new place, including a new school. This often meant in the middle of the school year too.
In each duty station we faced new challenges such as making new friends, finding someone to eat lunch with in the school cafeteria, and most of all worrying if we would be ahead or behind in our studies as part of a new class.
My parents would spend hours discussing our education with new teachers in order to figure out what learning track or reading group we needed to be added to.
Today, Georgia legislators are considering a bill that would ease the burden on military families as they are often required to move to multiple areas and schools.
Sen. Hunter Hill has introduced Senate Bill 395, the “Junior G.I.” bill, to allow the children of veterans, active duty military, national guardsman, and reservists to attend the school of their parents’ choice – using the money the state is already spending on their education in their current public school.
Students would not have to attend public school in order to be eligible, allowing those just moving to military bases around the state of Georgia to also participate in the scholarship program.
As a now military wife and mom, I see the benefits a program would have had on my education over the years, but also the positive impact that this could have for my child.
The military does not just enlist the service member, but the whole family – including the children. Let’s show our support for our service members and their families by contacting state legislators in support of the Junior G.I. scholarship program.
by Kimberly Sawatka | Jan 8, 2016
The new year has begun, which means writing resolutions, reorganizing the closets, forced time in the gym and change. For many Georgia parents, the new year brings hope for the passage of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and expansion of meaningful education choice.
It’s that hope that is bringing together more than 2,000 parents, students, educators and community leaders for the school choice rally at the Georgia State Capital on January 27th. The rally will take place at Liberty Plaza, next to the Georgia Capitol Building, to show support for allowing parents to decide how best to educate their children and to celebrate the options some families currently enjoy. The celebration is part of National School Choice Week’s nationwide spotlight on choice and empowering parents with the best education options to fit their children’s needs.
The program will begin at noon and feature student speakers, the National School Choice Week Dance, and a state proclamation declaring School Choice Week in Georgia.
In 2015 there were more than 11,000 events in support of choice throughout the United States, this year more than 13,000 schools, of all types, are participating in national celebrations around the country.
Join fellow Georgians later this month at the state’s capitol and show your support with the school choice dance. We want to see your moves!
Click here to watch dance video
Click here to watch dance video
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Nov 19, 2015
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) have dominated the school choice policy conversations as of late. However, many people are still unsure what ESAs truly offer, and some of the terminology can be confusing.
ESAs are similar to an Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) or a Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) in terms of the flexibility they provide but are used to pay for education expenses. A portion of the state’s allocated dollars that are already designated for each child’s public education are instead loaded onto a debit card that parents use to customize their child’s education. This money can be used for any educational resources including tutors, textbooks, private-school, homeschooling curriculum, and virtual learning.
Often these programs are confused with Coverdell Education Savings Accounts which are instead set up with personal money invested into tax-free accounts. These Funds can be used at any eligible educational institution whether that be elementary, secondary, or postsecondary. With a regular ESA, funds are coming from “legislative appropriations, local districts, and the federal government.”
Several states have already implemented ESA programs. For example, Arizona offers ESAs to children with special needs, attending failing public schools, in the foster care system, or children of active-duty military. Nevada offers a universal ESA program, allowing all public school students the opportunity to obtain quality education in the environment that best fits his or her learning needs.
Parents know their child’s learning needs best, so they are best equipped to decide how these resources should be spent to ensure their child obtains a quality education. By having control over the money the state is already spending on their child, parents who were previously limited by income or geography, now have access to more educational options for their children. Parents can keep their child in their school if they’re happy with it, but ESAs give more options to parents who feel that their child’s current school environment isn’t meeting their needs.
You can learn even more about ESAs at esaga.org.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Nov 11, 2015
In the late 19th century, Hawaiian sugar farmers struggled to prevent rats from eating their crop. Farmers introduced the Indian Mongoose to the islands to save the harvest.
Unfortunately, mongoose are active during the day, while rats are nocturnal. The mongoose did not quell the rat problem but even now the mongoose severely impact ground-nesting birds, including Hawaii’s state bird, the Nene, and endangered sea turtles. The mongoose is considered an invasive species in Hawaii.
We cannot always predict the outcomes of our decisions in the natural world, and history proves that the same is true in public life. Want the rich to pay more so we can balance the budget? In Maryland, the millionaires moved out. Want to increase the sales tax so people will smoke less? Now cigarettes are smuggled out of lower-tax states into other areas.
As the late Yogi Berra instructed, it’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.
Still, in education, we all want every child’s future to be marked by success and achievement. This blog has explained how education savings accounts can provide Georgia families with opportunities to inspire their children to learn and find quality educational options. With these flexible accounts, families can make multiple decisions about what is best for their child’s education today and save for the future.
However, with every new law, rules and regulations must follow. These rules are important to help prevent fraud and misuse.
Families that use education savings accounts must be protected from fraudulent educators and taxpayers must be protected from mishandling of the accounts. But these rules should be written carefully, otherwise regulation may limit what students can achieve using an account.
In Arizona, where education savings accounts have been available to families since 2011, state policymakers adjusted the law after its enactment to include fraud protection provisions. The Arizona Department of Education must conduct regular account audits to stop misuse so that it does not become widespread.
Yet the department has still not used other measures, such as updating the cards’ technology to prevent a family from buying educational materials at an approved store (such as Walmart) and also purchasing something that has nothing to do with their child’s education, like a TV.
In Florida, lawmakers have enacted strict rules that often require parents using education savings accounts to spend their own money first and then apply for reimbursement from the state. It’s too soon to tell, but Florida may be too cautious with their rules, while Arizona is not cautious enough.
Three lessons are readily available to Georgia lawmakers:
1. Make deposits into education savings accounts quarterly, then audit every quarter. Families using an account should receive deposits every fiscal quarter. If there is misspending, either accidental or purposeful, quarterly audits will prevent the problem from growing.
2. Students should be allowed to use their education savings accounts at educational institutions and for educational products—but nothing beyond these purchases. We have the technology to limit the use of a debit card so that only educational items can be purchased. Policymakers should tell the financial institution distributing the cards that lessons from other states demonstrate this technology is vital in order to protect students and taxpayers.
3. Learn from other states’ mistakes. In healthcare, food stamps, social security and all other government programs, fraud is a fact of life. But that means we must use all the resources available to allow vendors and individuals to report fraud over the phone or online and ask participating educators to help catch misuse. The Goldwater Institute has additional resources available to lawmakers.
Education savings accounts have the potential to help students from different walks of life succeed in their education and beyond. The proper rules must be in place to allow for flexibility while still protecting students and taxpayers. If we are not careful, the rules may stifle innovation and student success. Lessons from states already offering education savings accounts will help to limit unintended consequences.
Jonathan Butcher is education director at the Goldwater Institute and senior Fellow at the Beacon Center of Tennessee.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Nov 4, 2015
While commonly referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” the National Assessment of Educational Progress or “NAEP” assesses student knowledge in “math, reading, and other subjects” and has been “viewed as a credible national measure of academic progress.” Last week’s release of NAEP test scores reflect a dismal outlook for Georgia students.
Peggy Carr, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said that the national scores were not encouraging and represent an unexpected downturn.
The percentage of Georgia fourth graders reading at a proficient level fell one point from 2013 to 33 percent. Making sure students improve their reading efficiency is a must. If a child is struggling with reading by the time they reach the fourth grade, their ability to learn new concepts and subjects is hindered, and they fall behind in other key areas where reasoning and logic are required.
For eighth grade students, the percentage of students scoring at a proficient level decreased to 30 percent from 32 percent in 2011. Students in the eighth grade must be able to read and comprehend different “works of fiction and nonfiction,” analyze information from different mediums and be able to interpret their findings and present them in a clear report.
For mathematics, fourth grade is when students are not just learning concepts, but are learning to problem-solve. The number of fourth graders who scored proficient in mathematics fell four points to 34 percent in 2015. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that “state education officials were particularly concerned about the four-point drop in fourth-grade math, and planned to refocus efforts on getting students better prepared in ‘foundational’ work.”
Eighth grade mathematic proficiency also decreased in 2015 to 28 percent (from 29 percent in 2013).
Georgia’s proficiency scores put the state on par with Arkansas and South Carolina, with only a point or two difference between the states. Most Southeastern states scored below the national average with the exception of Florida, which scored above the national average in both fourth and eighth grade reading. Florida is also home to the most robust school choice program options in the nation, allowing parent to choose the best learning environment for their children.
For several years Georgia students have fallen short of the national average education scores. Students are falling behind and parents need additional options and resources to put their children in the education environment that best fits their learning needs. Georgia currently has some limited choice programs, but expanding choice – through ESAs or other school choice programs – is the only way to put Georgia students first.
