By: The Editorial Board – wsj.com – February 10, 2025

Texas, Tennessee and other GOP-led states join the movement for more education freedom.

The number of private school choice programs in the country grew to 81 from 65 from 2020-2024, according to the education nonprofit EdChoice. But only 33 states have choice programs, which means there are many more children and parents to liberate from lousy union schools. Here’s where the action is in the states so far this year:

• Tennessee. Lawmakers last month passed education savings accounts (ESAs) worth about $7,000 each for 20,000 students, a priority of Republican Gov. Bill Lee. There will be no income eligibility limits after the first year, making it the first private school choice program open to anyone in Tennessee.

• Texas. Everything is bigger here, but the Lone Star State has yet to prove it on school choice. Declaring ESAs an “emergency” item in his recent state of the state address, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is proposing a $1 billion program—twice as large as the $500 million he proposed in 2023.

The Senate last week passed a bill to provide scholarships of $10,000, with $2,000 for homeschoolers. House lawmakers, including Republicans, tanked ESAs last time around. But after the Governor backed school-choice proponents in the GOP primaries and November election, he has a new legislative majority that gives him a better chance of success. The House will likely take up ESA legislation in coming weeks.

• South Carolina. The Senate passed a bill last Tuesday to provide scholarships for 10,000 students in households up to 300% of the poverty level in the first year, expanding to 15,000 students and 400% of the poverty level in 2026. The state Supreme Court struck down tuition scholarships last year that some 2,900 students were using, citing a state constitutional ban on public funds for private schools.

The Senate’s new plan seeks to get around that judicial ruling by paying for scholarships through the South Carolina Education Lottery, which funds education expenses including private college tuition.

• Idaho. House lawmakers on Friday passed a bill creating refundable tax credits up to $5,000 for tuition and other expenses, which would be the first private school choice program in the state. The cost is $50 million, the amount Republican Gov. Brad Little requested. The Senate has introduced a bill that would add private school tuition to the eligible expenses in an existing state program that pays for such school expenses as textbooks.

• New Hampshire. New GOP Gov. Kelly Ayotte is calling for an expansion of the state’s ESA program. Current eligibility is capped at 350% of the poverty level, and the House and Senate have introduced bills to remove the income limit. A similar effort died last year, but Republicans increased their majorities in both chambers in November.

• Wyoming. The state House recently passed a bill removing the income eligibility limit (150% of the poverty level) from an ESA program and raising the scholarship amount to $7,000 from $6,000.

Other states to watch include Missouri, where Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing for a $50 million injection of state money into an ESA program that is currently funded by tax credits. North Dakota and Montana may also create new programs. And will Pennsylvania lawmakers give scholarships another shot after Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro let them down the last two years?

Meanwhile in Florida, where ESAs have been open to any student since 2023, more than 120,000 students applied for scholarships over the first weekend in February, when applications opened. That’s a record number, says the state’s scholarship administrator.

***

School choice alone won’t rescue America’s failing K-12 education system, but it is crucial to free parents and children from the monopoly control of unions that care first about dues-paying teachers. Republicans can also use the recent national test results to press for more accountability on curriculum, attendance and graduation rates. Democrats once competed on education, but these days they are owned by the unions. Republicans have a chance to own the issue.

To see this article in its entirety and to subscribe to others like it, please choose to read more.

Source: School Choice Revs Up Again in the States – WSJ