What is School Choice?

Community taxpayers -> public education funds -> Education Savings Accounts, tax credits, educational vouchers

It empowers families to choose whichever type of education best fits their children’s needs. This includes government schools, private schools, charter schools, magnet schools, online learning, private tutoring, and homeschooling. Empowerment comes not only through available choices but through available funds.

Doesn’t Virginia already have School Choice?

No.

Currently, Virginia only has a limited tax credit scholarship program, the EISTC. It is limited based on family income and generally requires prior enrollment in government schools. Only about one out of every three Virginia students is eligible for a scholarship, and the average recipient receives only about ¼ of the money that district schools receive per student. In addition, it requires parents to go through government-approved scholarship foundations to be found eligible for the program. (Source: EdChoice)

This is not a real choice nor is it true educational freedom. Every student should be eligible for public education funds. And the process for accessing these funds for educational purposes should be simple, widely publicized, and be directed to the student, not government-approved institutions.

Isn’t School Choice unconstitutional under the Virginia state constitution?

No.

The Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit (EISTC) law was approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by then Governor, Terry McCauliffe in 2014. It allows for the use of funds for faith-based private schools. Any new School Choice legislation such as Educational Savings Accounts would simply need to require compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and be completely neutral regarding philosophical or religious beliefs.

But we must not settle for just tax credits, we must fight for an education savings account program even if it requires a Virginia constitutional amendment. There is no reason why the government schools should have a monopoly over K-12 education in this state.

Based on what we have seen happening in Virginia public schools in recent years, it is clear that the Virginia government has failed to comply with the state constitution anyway - which states that the General Assembly “shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained.”