Proponents look to place school choice act on ballot

Mike Alexander, the chair of Californians for School Choice, admitted school choice comes in different forms and could have different meanings to different people whether it be open enrollment in public schools or choosing a private school.

But Alexander and supporters of the latest initiative say they finally have a true school choice proposal that will actually work, using something that’s not a new idea. “Our school choice is a little more pure and universal than others,” Alexander said.

If Californians for School Choice are successful in placing their initiative on the ballot, it would be the first school choice proposal to go to the state’s voters in more than 20 years. It would be the third attempt to bring school choice to California in the last 30 years after the first two attempts in the early 1990s and 2000 failed.

Many states and entities have implemented programs in which parents can set aside educational savings accounts for higher education and technical school. Now Californians for School Choice are proposing to do that at the K-12 level.

The Education Freedom Act would provide more than $14,000 per year per child to parents who choose to send their child to a private or religious school at the K-12 level. The $14,000 is based on Proposition 98 which requires 38 percent of the state budget go to education.

Proponents of the act intend to place the proposal on the November 2022 ballot. If passed parents sending their children to public or religious schools would be able to take advantage of the $14,000 educational savings accounts beginning in the 2023-2024 school year.

Proponents say the act is designed to be tax neutral and won’t impose any changes on public education. Or as Alexander put it: “If you like your public school you can keep your public school. If you like your public school teachers you can keep them.”

The $14,000 is taken from Proposition 98 funds so parents could direct those funds to participating public or charter schools or accredited private and religious schools, Californians for School Choice stated.

Alexander said the proposal would actually provide a net savings to the state as he said it costs $20,000 per student in public schools and the cost is $500,000 per classroom of 25 stu

dents, so the program would save the state $6,000 per student for parents who opt for a private or religious school.

Alexander noted those in the Porterville area would benefit by being given the choice to use the ESA for schools such as St. Anne’s or Zion Lutheran.

Alexander also noted any funds not used for K-12 education can be saved by parents for higher education or vocational training. Funds not spent by the time a student reaches the age of 30 will be returned to the state.

Private schools must be accredited and abide by local health and safety standards under the proposal, but there will be no curriculum or hiring requirements.

“Under the Education Freedom Act, the money will follow the student instead of the zip code,” Alexander said. “Parents wanting to leave the disastrous public school system would receive a yearly tuition credit of $14,000 per child to attend a private or religious school of their choice. It puts the child and the parents first. Not the politicians or the union bosses.”

When it comes to the issue of if private or religious schools could provided necessary services for special needs students, Alexander public schools are already failing in that area.

He said there are many parents of special needs students unhappy with what their public schools are providing who support the initiative. He also noted parents of special needs students could also take the ESA to send their students to a specialized school to meet their needs.

Alexander said any failings in education that have been happening or will happen won’t be because of anything his organization is doing or due to the initiative, noting California ranks 48th in the nation in education.

He said in particular, socioeconomically disadvantaged and immigrant students and many students in inner cities are being “devastated” by the current system.

Alexander said when it comes to competition the initiative would create, he described public schools as a monopoly and added “monopolies don’t like competition.”

The initiative will need 1 million verified signatures to be placed on the ballot and proponents will have six months until this spring to collect the required signatures. Alexander said his organization plans a “big roll out” on Sunday, October 31, Halloween, the jump start the signature gathering process.

He added his organization will collect 1.5 million signatures. “We’re going to make sure it’s not close,” said Alexander about the initiative qualifying for the ballot.

For more information, go to https://www.californiaschoolchoice.org/