Small Laments ESA Bill Deaths

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small today lamented the death of ESA measures in the Legislature.

“Children all across Oklahoma, especially the most vulnerable, lost out again today. It is disappointing that neither of the two bills that would have provided a lifeline for these children, and for their families, in the form of education savings accounts, were voted on by the full state House or state Senate before today’s deadline.

“ESAs would provide Oklahoma families, especially low-income families, with opportunities they simply don’t currently have to choose better educational options for their children.

“These two bills were not heard today because the strongest lobby at the state Capitol is now the public education lobby. Too often, this group has emphasized the dollar value associated with keeping children in seats in public schools, rather than allowing the children’s parents to have greater options for meeting their children’s unique needs.”


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  1. castor, 11 March, 2016

    As noted in another comment, things are not all bad on the school choice front:
    1. The Okla. Supreme Court upheld the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship law, allowing disabled kids go to private schools.
    2. The Scholarship Granting Organizations, like GO for Catholic Schools and Opportunity Scholarship Fund, are gaining in recognition and and issuing 100s of scholarships.

    But neither of these has the scope that ESAs would have. The education establishment overwhelmed our legislators with anti-ESA emails and phone calls, most of them misleading and erroneous. We need to spend the next 11 months spreading the facts and pointing out that allowing rich and poor alike to get into private schools makes for an equitable society.

  2. Melanaria, 21 March, 2016

    As parents of public school children, WE lead the charge on killing the ESA bills. If we are the “Education Establishment”, then we SHOULD be.

  3. John, 11 March, 2016

    We elected Republicans, but we clearly did not elect conservatives.

  4. Melanaria, 21 March, 2016

    Actually, what we elected were representatives charged with carrying out the will of the people. The voice of the people was heard, and their will carried out when this bill died before it was brought to the floor.

  5. Kristen, 18 March, 2016

    “ESAs would provide Oklahoma families, especially low-income families, with opportunities they simply don’t currently have to choose better educational options for their children.”

    The per pupil expenditure is just over $3,000, so this is what would go in a student’s ESA, or a portion thereof. Private school tuition averages nearly $6,000 per year. Private schools also do not provide transportation and require expensive uniforms. Low-income families do not have the resources to close the gap between the ESA and the tuition. So, the middle and upper class families who are already capable of paying the tuition end up getting a partial tuition reimbursement, or a tuition break. For some middle-class families, that gap is workable, so they’ll move their child and possibly take a second job to close the gap. Either way, this does not improve the situation for the low-income families but instead offers them an opportunity they cannot afford to take. It reminds me of the time I won a cell phone on the radio while I was in college. I won a cell phone that I couldn’t afford to activate or pay the monthly fees to use. I won…nothing. Low income students with an ESA/Voucher…win nothing.

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