The Way of the Future: Education Savings Accounts for Every Family

Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman proposed a system of school vouchers more than 50 years ago to improve education outcomes and efficiency. Technological advances allow today’s school choice advocates to design programs that replace state-funded vouchers redeemable at a school of a parent’s choice with actual accounts parents can manage down to the last penny. This Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice policy study by Matthew Ladner discusses how Education Savings Accounts improve upon the voucher concept. ESAs allow parents to choose between a much wider gamut of instructional approaches, including private schools, private tutors, online educational programs, or higher education. This creates an incentive for parents to judge education service providers both on quality and cost—a unique and crucial trait in publicly financed K-12 education.