How the U.S. Can Continue Championing Education Freedom: ALEC Policy Leaders on Just the News – No Noise
On the latest episode of Just the News – No Noise, John Solomon and co-host Amanda Head spoke with ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, West Virginia State Senator Patricia Rucker, Former Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, and Arkansas State Senator Jim Dotson about the state of the education freedom movement, as well as the shift toward parent-directed schooling, state-led innovation, and reduced federal control.
In the first segment of the program, ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson covered the impact of ALEC in expanding the legacy the education freedom movement has inherited from the school choice movement and how states are utilizing policy solutions to provide opportunities to students.
“The choice movement laid the foundation for the freedom movement, and then that laid the foundation for this accountability and the affordability for kids to go to different schools,” Nelson explained.
Nelson continued on this need to for choice in school selection and how resources such as education savings accounts to help parents are one such tool to expand those choices for students.
“You had 18 states across the country initiate this education freedom account,” she highlighted.
In the next segment, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon covered how the policy proposals the federal government has undertaken to reduce federal bureaucracy and return decision-making back to the states in regard to education. One such policy was the Education Freedom Tax Credit being offered to states for additional funding to programs.
“We’re discussing this Education Freedom Tax Credit,” McMahon highlighted. “We have had over 30 states sign up for it. Governors have to opt into the program, and so it’s anathema to me that not every governor has already opted in because I think it is such a great opportunity, for states to have more money in their states for their education programs.”
McMahon continued by highlighting the interagency agreements being crafted as a path toward reducing the federal Department of Education bureaucracy.
“We are really taking away the bureaucracy of education in Washington D.C.,” she noted. “I am signing interagency agreements or IAAs, which I have the authority to do under the Economy Act, and I’ve taken you know bodies of work out of the Department of Education and transferred them to other agencies where it will be more efficient to do that.”
In a later segment, John Solomon interviewed West Virginia State Senator Patricia Rucker at the 53rd ALEC Annual Meeting in Orlando.
“We are empowering families to make choices for their children that is individualized to the child,” Rucker highlighted. “There’s all sorts of education providers for very specific therapeutic needs, learning disabilities, and issues that we did not have before but because now the parents have the funds that is now growing in the state, and we are saving children’s lives.”
The next segment featured former Arizona Senate President Karen Fann on how Arizona expanded parental choice with universal ESAs and resisted a recent rollback effort.
“Parents should have the right and the ability to choose the best system for their kids. Not all kids are alike. One size doesn’t fit all, and so there are some good public schools,” Fann explained.
In the last segment, Arkansas State Senator Jim Dotson covered his states efforts in the education freedom movement.
“We now have about 50,000 students on education freedom accounts in the state,” Dotson emphasized. “Here, a parent can choose the best educational environment that suits the needs of their particular student and really tailor make or craft the education environment to fit their specific instance.”