Alabama Sen. Del Marsh has filed what he calls the “ultimate” school choice bill, which would allow families to access money the state would have used to pay for their child’s public school education.
Editor’s note: This article appeared Wednesday on al.com.
A bill to give Alabama state funding to an individual family’s public, private or homeschool option of choice advanced from the Senate Education Policy committee Wednesday on a voice vote recorded as five yeses, three no’s and two abstentions.
The act would create Education Savings Accounts, or ESAs, that would give parents access to an amount equal to 100% of the state’s share of educating a public school student. ESAs could be used toward an alternative education, including private school or homeschool.
Sen. Del Marsh said he filed the bill because Alabama’s education system is ranked so poorly on the National Assessment of Education Progress, also called the Nation’s Report Card, in comparison to other states and he is concerned about the state’s future.
“I cannot sit back and do nothing,” he said. “If we’re not perceived by those outside of the state of Alabama that we’re trying to solve this problem, and that Alabama assumes that 50th is good enough, what are we doing for our children?”
Multiple education officials spoke against the bill during the public hearing, sharing concerns about initial $420 million estimates of the cost to fund ESAs at $5,500 each for an estimated 70,000 private and homeschool students.
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