Video

ALEC Education & Workforce Task Force Newest Model Policies

It's clear from the conversations I've been having with lawmakers, that education reform is where the voters are.

Andrew Handel, the ALEC Education and Workforce Task Force Director, stopped by the ALEC TV studio at the ALEC 9th Annual Meeting in Atlanta to share an update on new model policies coming out of his task force.

ALEC TV: What are some of the model policies coming out of  your task force this year:

Andrew Handel: The Hope Scholarship Act. It’s modeled on the West Virginia law that passed in 2021. It is an education savings account program. It’s universal, applies to every single student. We’ve also got some changes that address homeschooling in there for lawmakers, which is a common concern. And 100% of the money there follows the kids, which is the end goal there. So, really excited to get that done.

We passed an academic Transparency Act, as well, which requires all public K through 12 schools to post their instructional materials and teacher training materials online, which is a really key thing. We’ve seen parents needing to file FOIA requests around the country and pay thousands of dollars just to see what’s being taught to their kids, which is ridiculous. So you know, those are really the two big ones. We had some amendments to our textbook cost Transparency Act as well.

ALEC TV: Anything more you want to add about the meeting?

Andrew Handel: It’s clear from the conversations I’ve been having with lawmakers, that education reform is where the voters are. They’re very interested in whatever candidates are going to support school choice. So you know, I’m just glad to be here and be a part of that solution offer or whatever policies are best to make that happen.