House panel backs education savings accounts legislation

The state would pay part of the cost for parents who want to switch their children from public to private school under a bill that narrowly cleared a House committee Monday.

The legislation by Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, would allow for “education savings accounts,” or “ESAs,” under which a portion of the money the state spends to publicly school a child could instead be applied to the child’s private school education.

House Bill 2949 was approved 9-8 and now goes to the full House.

Backers say it would empower parents to seek the best possible education alternatives for their children.

“If your child has special needs and you’re in a school district that can’t address those needs, adopting ESAs mean you are no longer trapped,” said Renee Porter, founder of ChoiceMatters for Kids.

Her group, the State Chamber of Oklahoma, and several other organizations collaborated on a letter urging lawmakers to approve the bill. The letter said education savings accounts would actually boost per-pupil funding in schools, as only a portion of the money used to educate a student in public school would follow the child to a private school.

“We have many excellent schools in Oklahoma,” the letter stated. “However, every school cannot be expected to meet every need for every child.

“A one-size-fits-all approach to education does not properly address the differences and unique requirements of our children.”

Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Board Association, said there are already many educational options and choices available in public schools.

He said education savings accounts could prove expensive for the state as they wouldn’t be just for students who switch from public to private schools. Students new to the state or first enrolling in kindergarten also could use these accounts.

He also made a philosophical argument.

“Over the past two decades, we’ve continued to increase mandates and accountability measures for public schools — accountability and transparency for public dollars,” he said. “Now we have a push to take those same public dollars and give them for private school or homeschooling with zero accountability or transparency.”