Thousands of families who signed up to take part in Nevada’s education savings account program will have to wait at least two more years because Democrats in the legislature worked this session to deny them the right to choose how they’re educated. As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported:
The battle may have been lost on Education Savings Accounts in the 2017 session of the Nevada Legislature, but the war will continue in the next go-round for lawmakers in 2019.
The failure to fund the program using state funds to help parents pay for private school for their children is a bitter pill for Republican lawmakers, GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, private school operators and the thousands of parents who signed up to participate.
While Republicans will push hard for the program next session, Democrats and their allies will be ready to push back just as hard.
After getting the ESA program passed in the 2015 session and then seeing the original funding mechanism rejected by the Nevada Supreme Court, expectations were high that Sandoval could use his negotiating skills to get it through in 2017.
But Democrats held firm on the issue, and ultimately a deal was struck that did not include what Republicans call school choice and what opponents call vouchers.
Nevada’s budget will include more money for the state’s tax-credit scholarship, but that’s not what the people asked for. As usual, politics has gotten in the way of good policy, and children will suffer for it.
SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal
IN THIS ISSUE:
- KANSAS: A bill to expand Kansas’ tax-credit scholarship program awaits the governor’s signature.
- OHIO: Open enrollment in Ohio’s public schools tends to benefit students academically, a new study shows.
- MILITARY: The Heritage Foundation proposes education savings accounts for military families.
- CHARTER SCHOOLS: A former public school superintendent admits his job was to put charter schools out of business.
Common Core and Curriculum Watch
- TECH ED: Career training and tech ed aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, says a new report.
- CALIFORNIA: A shocking 75 percent of black boys in California fail to meet the state’s reading and writing standards.
- UTAH: Gov. Gary Herbert says the state board needs to “own” the Common Core standards it put in place.
- DeVOS: U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is not popular with the liberal media, but she’s getting by with a little help from a former public school student.
- BUDGET: The Republican chairman of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee says it’s unlikely Trump’s proposed education budget will survive through Congress.
- TEXAS: Gov. Greg Abbott calls for school finance reform in Texas.
- DELAWARE: Delaware’s legislature votes to eliminate the state’s board of education.
- MORE SCHOOL: Several states want to force children to attend school for more years of their childhood.
Teresa Mull is a policy advisor for education and an editor at The Heartland Institute.
