By: Lisa B. Nelson and Stephen Moore
ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson spoke with economist Stephen Moore of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity on the latest episode of Moore Money. They discussed the growing trend of school choice measures adopted by states, which could benefit millions of children. They highlighted the potential for these efforts to improve education outcomes and increase access to quality schools.
It’s been a very good week for school choice. Louisiana just passed their universal bill, making them the 12th state to join the fold. This movement started three years ago with West Virginia, having passed a universal HOPE Scholarship that was universal education and the money following the students, and then Arizona quickly followed suit. Governor Ducey worked on it the entire time he was in office and finally got it done in his last year. It was also a comprehensive bill.
Then, of course, right behind them was Iowa, and now we have 12 states, including Florida, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana, Ohio and Oklahoma. It’s an exciting idea that essentially, we’ve talked about it being the civil rights issue of the 21st century, because this money is your money.
Your family — and you as an individual parent — are spending money and paying taxes for your choice of school. That’s what’s happening. I think everybody had a front row seat during Covid to what was going on in the schools, and parents are now taking a much more active role in their children’s education. How can you be against that? I think it’s great, and I love seeing it.