In the News

The GOP Platform Calls for ‘Universal School Choice.’ What Would That Mean for Students?: Lisa B. Nelson in The Associated Press

In our way of thinking, this is kind of your money, your children and your choice for where they want to go to school.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson lauded the inclusion of universal school choice in the Republican National Committee’s new platform. The new platform, which encourages states to adopt the same policies championed by the Education Freedom Alliance, marks a historic moment in the decades-long movement to empower parents with choice in their children’s education.

“In our way of thinking, this is kind of your money, your children and your choice for where they want to go to school,” said Lisa B. Nelson, CEO of the American Legislative Exchange Council, which launched an Education Freedom Alliance in January to fight for just that. About a dozen states now have such programs, and proposals are in play in another 16, according to the alliance.

Nelson said this is the first time the GOP platform has gone beyond merely supporting school choice to calling for it as a universal option.

ALEC’s Nelson said supporters of choice believe vigorous competition makes all schools better.

And calls for broadening school choice are not coming exclusively from Republicans. In Louisiana, six Democrats voted in favor of a universal school choice bill in April.

“As I watch children in poverty, trapped in failing schools, who can hardly read, I’d be damned if I will continue to defend the status quo,” Democratic Rep. Jason Hughes, who represents New Orleans, opined on the floor before casting his vote.

Democrats also have voted in favor of expanded school choice in Nebraska and Pennsylvania. In Georgia, state Rep. Mesha Mainor left the party last year in part because of a differences over school vouchers.

Read the full article here.