Nevada ranks second to last among states in terms of its educational outcomes, according to Education Week’s “Quality Counts State Report Card,” published in January. A subsequent poll found that only 21 percent of Nevadans rated their public schools as good or excellent.
Nevada legislators in recent months have taken a big step toward fixing this sorry state of affairs. In April, the Silver State enacted a tax-credit scholarship for low- and middle-income families.
Then on June 2, Governor Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bill 302, an education savings account bill, into law. By doing so, Nevada has created the most inclusive school choice program in the country.
Nevada is the fifth state to enact an ESA law, following Tennessee, Florida, Arizona and Mississippi. The latter four states’ programs have income cut-offs, or apply only to disabled students or those in failing schools.
Nevada’s program is much more expansive. Any student who has been enrolled in a public school for at least 100 days can participate. That means more than nine in 10 students will be eligible for the accounts.
Nevada students from low-income households and those with disabilities will receive funding equal to the state’s full, average per-student spending, roughly $5,700. All other eligible students will get funding equal to 90 percent of average per-student spending.
ESAs give parents incentives to look for the greatest value in their children’s education. Unlike voucher programs, ESAs allow families to spend their funds at multiple providers and on more than just tuition and school fees at private schools. In Nevada, the funds can also be spent on textbooks, tutoring, distance learning tuition, standardized test fees, digital tools, transportation fees and more.
Perhaps best of all, ESAs don’t require additional state money. The funding a state would typically spend on a child’s public education is diverted to his or her ESA.
Polls show most Americans support providing parents with choices in how their children are educated. A recent national poll by Beck Research found that nearly 70 percent of Americans support school choice.
It is no mystery why. School choice programs take the power of determining children’s educational requirements out of the hands of government and put it back into the hands of parents.
The U.S. education system has long been defined by mediocrity. In May, the largest ever global school rankings were published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The U.S. came in 28th in terms of its students’ competency in math and science, even though the U.S. spends a third more per-pupil than the OECD average. Clearly the status quo hasn’t been working.
Reformers are doing the right thing by introducing the democratic principles of choice, competition and accountability into education. After all, a child’s education shouldn’t depend on where she lives or how much money her parents make — and it certainly shouldn’t on a government bureaucrat’s idea of how she should be educated.
