Education Savings Accounts Information
Read the 2017 Session Bill Here
The proposed Parental Choice Education Savings Account (PCESA) program is modeled after Arizona’s successful Empowerment Savings Account (AESA) program.
PCESA will allow parents of special needs children to sign a contract with the State that requires the parent(s) to withdraw a qualifying student from a public or charter school and, in return, receive 90-100 percent of the State’s portion of the per-pupil education funding, which is deposited quarterly to a savings account. The contract will require the parents to agree to provide the student with instruction in accordance with educational alternatives allowed by Virginia Code. Account expenditures will be restricted to defined educational expenditures. Parents must submit expenditure receipts quarterly, prior to receiving funds for the next quarter. Account expenditures will be subject to audit.
Improper use of funds will be subject to fines, penalties, and / or prosecution.
More key information on the bill is available on the "ESA's-at-a-glance" document here.
Virginia families should be free to choose a learning environment that works best for their student's unique needs - public or private, religious or secular - regardless of race, origin or family income. Education professionals and leaders from around the Commonwealth agree!
More information about ESA's can be found at the links below:
Delegate LaRock Op-Ed in Winchester Star
Washington Times Op-Ed: Parental choice means better learning outcomes
ESA's in Florida: Union Lawsuit Against Florida School Choice Programs Dismissed, But the Battle Continues
Legislative History in Virginia:
2015 session: HB 2238; passed the House, killed in Senate by Lt. Governor Ralph Northam
2016 session: HB 389; passed the House and Senate, vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe
2017 session: HB 1605; passed the House and Senate, vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe
Videos:
Holland Hines and son EJ, who has Asperger’s (Arizona)
The Vissers, and son Jordan, who has cerebral palsy (Arizona)
Salima, who has Down syndrome (Florida) and Faith (Arizona)
Why Special Needs Students Want School Choice
Why Teachers Unions Don't Want School Choice
Information:
Goldwater Institute: The Next Frontier in Education
Goldwater Institute: Education Savings Accounts Turn 5 Years Old
Oklahoma Supreme Court, Arizona ESA Student Make their Case for Choice in Education
The Atlantic: The Litigious Mess of Special Education
Jefferson Policy Journal:The Coming Education Challenge
Georgia Center for Opportunity: Mom and Apple Pie, Meet School Choice
Heritage Report: Expanding Education Choices: From Vouchers and Tax Credits to Savings Accounts
Friedman Foundation report: THE EDUCATION DEBIT CARD: What Arizona Parents Purchase with Education Savings Accounts, by LINDSEY M. BURKE, August 2013
Friedman Foundation report: THE WAY OF THE FUTURE: Education Savings Accounts for Every American Family, by MATTHEW LADNER, October 2012
Friedman Foundation report: SCHOOLING SATISFACTION: Arizona Parents’ Opinions on Using Education Savings Accounts, by JONATHAN BUTCHER and JASON BEDRICK, M.P.P., October 2013
More Friedman Foundation information on ESA’s
Cato Podcast: Educational Freedom Wins Florida
Goldwater Institute: Florida's Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts
Virginia Accreditation Reports
Florida Department of Education: Personal Learning Scholarship Account Program
Florida's Scholarship Granting Organization
Goldwater Institute: Faasse v. Scott Case Page
Goldwater Institute: Ed Reform page
American Legislative Exchange Council: Report Card on American Education
Institute for Justice- School Choice Media Kit
Virginia DOE Guidance for Military Families with Students in Special Education
Friedman Foundation: Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant study
Thomas Jefferson Institute: Students Without Borders: Funding Online Education in Virginia
Thomas Jefferson Institute: Better Education for All Children: The Annual Fiscal Analysis of A Virginia Educational Improvement Tax Credit
The Federalist: Education Needs More Freedom, Not More Money
