Education Savings Accounts

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School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Programs Are Having a Moment. But It's Not All Smooth Sailing
Several states have passed private school choice programs with universal eligibility. But some have seen road bumps as they implement them.
Mark Lieberman, June 16, 2023
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9 min read
A parent and child looking at 2 different schools
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School Choice & Charters 6 More States Will Soon Let Almost All Students Attend Private School With Public Money
So far this year, 14 states passed laws and lawmakers in 42 states introduced bills to expand private school choice.
Libby Stanford, June 15, 2023
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7 min read
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School Choice & Charters Do Vouchers and ESAs Take Money From Public Schools? How States Fund School Choice
Republican state lawmakers have ramped up programs that dedicate public funds for parents to spend on their children’s private education.
Mark Lieberman, May 8, 2023
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7 min read
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School Choice & Charters Opinion What Is an Education Savings Account, and Why Does It Matter?
ESAs shift us from a system of “school” choice to “educational” choice, opening the door to a system that offers more customizable options.
Rick Hess, May 8, 2023
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5 min read
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School Choice & Charters Explainer Education Savings Accounts, Explained
Four states this year have passed laws allowing any parent to spend public dollars on private school tuition or other education expenses.
Libby Stanford & Mark Lieberman, March 27, 2023
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17 min read
Students and teachers from East High School in Salt Lake City walk out of school to protest the HB15 voucher bill, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Several years of pandemic restrictions and curriculum battles have emboldened longtime advocates of funneling public funds to private and religious schools in statehouses throughout the country.
Students and teachers from East High School in Salt Lake City walk out of school on Jan. 25, 2023, to protest legislation that would create private-school vouchers in the state. Several years of pandemic restrictions and curriculum battles have emboldened longtime advocates of funneling public funds to private and religious schools in statehouses throughout the country.
Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
School Choice & Charters The Push for School Choice Is Accelerating
States across the country are considering sweeping school choice bills that would send public funds to private schools.
Libby Stanford, January 27, 2023
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6 min read
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School Choice & Charters Q&A Voucher Programs Gain Strength With Help From the Courts, An Expert Says
A school choice expert explains how recent rulings could prevent future voucher programs from getting blocked by opponents.
Mark Lieberman, December 22, 2022
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8 min read
Collage showing two boys in classroom during pandemic wearing masks with cropped photo of feet and arrows going in different directions.
Collage by Gina Tomko/EducationWeek (Images: Getty)
School Choice & Charters How the Pandemic Helped Fuel the Private School Choice Movement
State lawmakers got a new talking point as they pushed to create and expand programs to send students to private schools.
Evie Blad, July 2, 2021
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8 min read
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers her Condition of the State address before a joint session of the Iowa Legislature on Jan. 12 at the statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers her Condition of the State address to state lawmakers on Jan. 12. She's pushing a major school choice expansion.
Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register via AP
School Choice & Charters COVID-19 May Energize Push for School Choice in States. Where That Leads Is Unclear
The pandemic is driving legislators' interest in mechanisms like education savings accounts, but the growth may not be straightforward.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 27, 2021
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8 min read
School Choice & Charters From Our Research Center Private School Choice Programs Fall Short on Transparency, Accountability
Education Week finds that few of the nearly 30 states with programs that pay tuition at private schools or tax-credits to incentivize businesses and individuals to do so require private schools to follow standard policies used to ensure transparency and accountability in the nation’s public schools.
Arianna Prothero & Alex Harwin, February 28, 2020
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12 min read
School Choice & Charters Striking Teachers Are Targeting Charter Schools. But Are Charters Really a Threat?
Charter schools educate only about 7 percent of all public school students. But in some cities, charter schools have made significant inroads.
Arianna Prothero, February 25, 2019
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3 min read
School Choice & Charters Expansion of School Vouchers Gets Trounced in Arizona
Proposition 305 had become one of the most contentious ballot-box battles over school choice in the 2018 midterm elections. But its loss is not necessarily a defeat for school choice advocates.
Arianna Prothero, November 7, 2018
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3 min read
School Choice & Charters Arizona Voters Will Determine Whether to Massively Expand School Voucher Eligibility
The push to make 1.1 million of Arizona's school children eligible for vouchers has been both contentious and confounding, with questions about whether voters are interpreting the ballot language correctly.
Arianna Prothero, October 19, 2018
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5 min read
School Choice & Charters Will a 'School Choice for All' Program Survive the Ballot Box in Arizona?
An Arizona Supreme Court ruling has paved the way for a voter referendum on the state's ambitious plan to expand eligibility for a private school choice program to all public school students.
Arianna Prothero, March 22, 2018
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3 min read
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