Education Freedom Update: Jonathan Williams on Main Street Matters
The basic principle of the movement is that someone’s ZIP code should not determine their educational opportunity.
ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams was featured on Main Street Matters with the Job Creators Network, discussing the expansion of school choice across the country and what it means for families, students, and small businesses.
Impact of the Education Freedom Movement
The conversation started with an overview of the landscape of the education freedom movement. Williams emphasized the importance of parental rights and the need to empower parents to make decisions for their children’s education.
“When we talk about education freedom, it can take different elements, but essentially it is that basic American principle that we empower parents to make the best decisions for their own kids, whether that’s public, private, homeschool, charter school, or some of these micro schools,” Williams noted.
He discussed further how the pandemic led to increased parental involvement in their children’s education.
“The way that education has been rethought coming out of the pandemic, and the progress we’ve made across the United States through the Education Freedom Alliance, along with the leadership of ALEC legislators, the men and women driving these efforts in the states, has been nothing short of miraculous compared to the pre-pandemic era.”
State Challenges and Opportunities in Education Freedom
Williams pointed to how states, based on their policies, can empower parents regardless of income levels, including education tax credits, education savings accounts, and virtual education options that help level the playing field.
“The basic principle of [the movement] is that someone’s ZIP code should not determine their educational opportunity,” Williams highlighted. “That includes policies like education tax credits, which some states have implemented very effectively, as well as stronger virtual education options—not the government-mandated models we saw during the pandemic, but high-quality, private sector–driven alternatives, especially for students in rural and remote communities where in-person schooling may be far away or difficult to access.”
Additional Resources for Policymakers
Williams directed listeners to the ALEC website, where they can find the Education Freedom Index and other resources, as well as EducationFreedomAlliance.org.
“ALEC is a great resource where you can view the Education Freedom Index,” Williams emphasized. “We’ve talked about how your state ranks and what you can do to continue this progress toward education freedom right in your very home state, but also visit our Education Freedom Alliance as well and keep up to date with all the great work that we and you and all of our great allies are doing across the states.”