The Defender: Education Savings Accounts Give Parents Flexibility and Freedom

THE EMPOWERMENT ZONE

An education savings account (ESA) is a flexible government-funded account that parents access in order to direct the K-12 education of their children. Parents can use ESA funds to pay for a wide range of educational expenses, including tuition, textbooks, tutoring, and therapies. Policymakers and parents achieved significant historic wins for educational freedom in 2022 and 2023, resulting in universal or near-universal education savings account programs in multiple states. For the ESA programs to truly serve students well, all stakeholders must prioritize getting ESA implementation right.

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THE WHITEBOARD

Fact Check: How Much Do Public School Teachers Make a Year?
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona grossly exaggerates what teachers are paid, and even the NEA’s own numbers conflict his claim. What’s more, the Secretary does not recognize that we can be both pro-education freedom and pro-public school teachers.

Fact Check: Do School Choice Programs Primarily Help the Wealthy?
School choice programs in Indiana and Arizona benefit all families, rich and poor alike, and especially help lower-income families, children who have special needs, and students coming from public schools.

Fact Check: Do Children Need To Be Protected From Sexually Explicit Books?
The NEA, led by Becky Pringle, clearly prioritize a political and social agenda, promoting overtly sexual and inappropriate materials in schools across the country.

Charter Schools Deliver More Academic Bang per Educational Buck
It is a pervasive myth, perpetuated by teachers unions and their allies, that more taxpayer funding is the solution to America’s education woes. Two new studies on public charter schools dispel that myth by demonstrating how such schools accomplish more with less.

Planned Parenthood’s Involvement in the Sexualization of America’s School Children Is Deeply Disturbing
A new report published by the Claremont Institute exposes Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the American school system.

Florida Catholic Schools: Evidence for School Choice
With educational freedom, diverse populations—with diverse needs—have found their desires met at Catholic schools.

EMPOWERED PARENTS

Developmentally behind his peers by two years, Gavin McGregor required a different education than public school could offer. After many years of one-on-one intervention, his mother, Colleen McGregor, discovered Arizona’s ESA program, which grants her son the extra support he needs to attend private school. Now, Gavin has made the honor roll and feels empowered to seek out a high school diploma.

EXPOSING THE EDUCATION BLOB

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ESCAPING YOUR GOV'T ASSIGNED SCHOOL
Kaitlin Harrier: Helping Arizona Families Navigate Their Education Options

Kaitlin Harrier, founding director of NavigatED Arizona, joined Escaping Your Government Assigned School to share the organization’s phenomenal resources for parents, including a bilingual hotline and a School Search tool that enables Arizona parents to research local education options and determine which works best for their child.

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ON THE RADAR

To learn about the gender support plans that school districts use to conceal information from parents, check out Parents Defending Education’s (PDE) Gender Ideology: What Parents Need to Know resources. PDE compiled a list of over 1,000 school districts with Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Policies that state that district staff can or should hide a student’s gender identification from parents. The list is not comprehensive.

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