Parents Deserve CHoice in Education Options for their Children
Mike Lee recently shared his thoughts on school choice to add his voice to School Choice Week. Senator Lee has been a consistent advocate for supporting school choice and parent rights in education throughout his Senate career. You can read his full editorial here, but here are some of the highlights:
Lamentably, the federal government does not have much enthusiasm for school choice.
That cold shoulder toward school choice hurts low-income families the most. The thousands of federal dollars per low-income student throughout a K-12 education currently go to local public schools. This contributes to students, families and entire communities feeling trapped in schools that fail to provide the foundation they need to succeed. These school traps can rob children and parents of the best bet they have to break cycles of poverty and access opportunities.
Families are what make Utah great. In every choice from strollers to schooling, the well-being of the child is the parent’s primary concern. So, let’s put parents in charge. This bill is part of a movement in which parents are taking back choices that are rightfully theirs.
John Schilling, the president of the American Federation for Children, put it simply, saying, “Education funding is meant for educating children, not for protecting a particular institution. This bill directly empowers lower income families by funding students, not systems.”
Mike is backing these words up with action. He has introduced the Children Have Opportunities in Classrooms Everywhere Act, or CHOICE Act, in the Senate which would allow parents to choose to direct federal dollars to the public schools their children attend or to a 529 educational savings account to help cover the expenses of homeschooling, private school, trade school or college.
Families are what make Utah great. In every choice from strollers to schooling, the well-being of the child is the parent’s primary concern. So, let’s put parents in charge. This bill is part of a movement in which parents are taking back choices that are rightfully theirs. But to keep this movement moving forward, we have to re-elect one of its strongest leaders to the U.S. Senate. If you support School Choice, please commit your support to re-elect Mike Lee for Senate today.