Explaining Education Savings Accounts and Accountability
Written By: Mandy Drogin
Moms and dads,
I love when I hear from parents and taxpayers asking about the details of an Education Savings Account (ESA) because it means Texans are preparing to finish the fight to empower parents with education freedom! If you need a refresher on how an ESA will work here in Texas, here’s a wonderful 1 Pager explaining all the details of Texas’s ESA.
One of the most important concerns I hear is regarding the Accountability for both parents utilizing an ESA and private schools willing to accept an ESA.
As any Texan with a healthy distrust of government, I’m right there with you… I want no part of any government-funded program that would open me or private institutions, like my church, to additional government regulation. No thank you, not happening!
This concern for those learning about Education Savings Accounts that there could be “Strings Attached” is 100% valid and understandable! So, let’s get real and talk all about ESA Accountability and protecting the autonomy and legal rights of anyone opting in to an ESA.
ESA Accountability is a top priority and we at TPPF are fighting to ensure that those participating in the program have No Strings Attached, while also ensuring there is Academic Accountability and Financial Accountability for parents and taxpayers.
How do we protect parents and schools from government regulations?
First, ESAs are 100% opt-in for families and private schools. Remember that healthy distrust of government I mentioned above? Well, absolutely no family is being forced to use and ESA and no private school is forced to accept and ESA. Why? Freedom, of course! We do not believe any parent or school should be forced to participate in an ESA program, just like we do not believe every child should be forced to attend a government-assigned public school based on the street they live on. Education Freedom is the foundation of the Parent Empowerment Movement, and that goes for every single Texan and private school.
Second, absolutely no federal dollars will be used for this program. The federal government is in love with attaching strings to every penny it gives to the states, so the funding for the ESA, which is currently set at $500 Million, will not use any federal money—NONE – not one red cent. The Feds can keep their money and their nonsense regulations. No thanks, we’ll pass. No federal money = No federal strings.
Third, the law that creates ESAs WILL include the strongest legal protections for private schools' autonomy. Legal Experts, such as those from the Institute for Justice (IJ) have been advising on the exact language that provide bullet-proof legal protections, ensuring that any accredited private school accepting ESAs will not have to change their admissions process, teacher requirements, curriculum, or any other aspect of their school. All private schools can operate just as they have, prior to the passage of an ESA. And, remember, if a school doesn’t want to accept an ESA, they have ZERO requirement to do so. Freedom!
Who is the Institute for Justice you ask? You may remember hearing about them because they are the incredible legal foundation that has argued and WON multiple times for education freedom at the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s a bit more about how IJ fights for your freedom.
So what accountability measures do ESAs have to protect taxpayer dollars?
First, regular audits of the program to ensure no one is committing fraud. This is pretty common sense and will ensure that taxpayers are funding a program that is not perpetuating wasteful spending. Just like the current, highly successful, SSES program that provides $1,500 grants to children with special needs, the Education Administration Organization will incur regular audits by a 3rd party to ensure taxpayer funds are being used to educate children and nothing else!
Second, any private school accepting ESAs must be an accredited private school. In Texas, private schools are accredited by a group of private accreditors. There are currently 19 accrediting commissions recognized in Texas. This ensures that the private school is meeting standards that are equivalent to or greater than those of public schools. The process is very similar to accreditation for colleges and universities. Private school accreditors set the standards—from consistent academic achievement to taking a yearly norm-referenced test of the school’s choosing—not the state’s decision. ESAs will not change this. No private school that wants to accept ESAs will be required to change their current testing decisions. To be crystal clear – the testing currently administered by the accredited private schools will be left up to the private school, not the government, and that’s non-negotiable!
In case you are curious, here’s where you can see the list of private school accreditors or the over 1,200 accredited private schools in Texas
To learn more about all the legal protections for families and private schools, please check out this easy-to-understand 1-pager covering everything on Legal Protections and Accountability.
If you’re a homeschool family, we have a 1 pager explaining how an ESA could work for you too and ensure legal protections for home school families. In collaboration with our friends at the Texas Home School Coalition, we wanted to ensure that any family looking for an ESA for their child’s education has all the facts to advocate for your child. We’re with you!
If you have more questions, there is a lot of great information right here on the benefits of ESAs, including on the public education system, rural Texas and workforce development.
In Texas, we’re dedicated to doing things the right way, and doing them in a big way – the nation is watching us closely, after all. This year, the Legislature must pass ESAs, and it must do so in a way that protects the rights of the schools and of the parents that participate in the program. And, when we get this done, we’ll probably have the biggest program in the country—once again, Texas will lead the nation on education.