Charter schools dramatically outperform their district counterparts, but the state’s policy solution is not a panacea.
K–12 Education
Parents and students should have more sovereignty over their children’s education, especially by enabling parents to use Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) to supplement their children’s brick-and-mortar schooling. The landmark enactment of universal ESAs in Arizona, in which every K-12 pupil will receive $6,500 for tutoring, technology, and instructional expenses, is a model for every other state. Microschools and charter schools give parents additional affordable options for their children. Well-designed testing is a key element to helping students succeed in school.
All K–12 Education
The test scores of children from lower-income households declined more than their peers
New legislation would allow states and school districts to provide funding directly to parents to help students
ESAs are popular because they give families the power to customize their children’s education
References for Dan Lips’ landmark 2005 proposal.
ESAs can give families ownership of the $800 billion currently spent on public K-12 education.
Encouraging employers to offer child care microschools for their employees’ children could address policymakers’ longstanding goals of expanding access to high-quality child care while meeting parents’ increasing demands for new schooling options for their children.
Two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, states have only spent about 20 percent