By: Kaitlyn Shepherd and Anna K. Miller
The Idaho Senate will soon vote on SB 1038, the Freedom in Education (FIE) Savings Account Act, which would establish education savings accounts (ESAs) that would be available to every K-12 student in Idaho and provide $5,950 per year for families to use to completely customize their child’s education.
The bill was sent to the floor with a “do pass” recommendation by the Senate Education Committee with a 6-3 vote. Opponents of school choice continue to make false claims about the program, including that the bill lacks accountability, would negatively affect students with special needs, and would carry an “exorbitant” cost to the state.
In fact, the opposite is true. Education choice will benefit every student in Idaho by providing them with education funds to meet their unique needs, save taxpayer dollars, and change the incentives of public schools to respond to the needs of students, thus creating real accountability.
Claim 1: The FIE Savings Account program lacks sufficient accountability measures to ensure taxpayers see positive academic results.
Currently, public schools are not being held accountable for failing to achieve results. They receive more money every year, yet students’ test scores remain stagnant or decline. Additionally, public schools promote corrupt ideologies that put them more and more out of touch with families’ religious and moral values.
True accountability begins with parents, not the government. Parents...
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