In this GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar, Opportunities and Potential Pitfalls: State Expansion of Education Savings Accounts, we created a forum for thoughtful and nuanced conversations to go beyond the headlines and the contention on a controversial policy, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Our goal was to understand the opportunities and implications of this rapidly expanding policy for children from economically challenged families. It is incredibly important to explore controversial topics and understand all sides of an issue through thoughtful and balanced discussion, and this week’s session gave us the chance to do just that.

ESAs give families access to public per-pupil funds that can be used to pay for tuition to private schools, homeschooling supplies, curriculum materials, online learning, tutoring support, etc. Proponents of school choice see this as a necessary way to allow students to learn in the setting that works best for them, and skeptics see this as a disinvestment in public school systems at a time when they need as much support as possible. Moderator Teree Caldwell-Johnson of Oakridge Neighborhood Services in Des Moines, Iowa, asked Ben DeGrow of ExcelinEd to launch the discussion by further defining what ESAs are and why ExcelinEd thinks they are an important strategy. He introduced the ESA definition this way:

“[ESAs are built on] the need to meet the individual needs of students by offering the widest range of possible opportunities…recognizing that no individual school can meet the need of every child, so giving families the broadest access to opportunities…will ultimately help that individual child learn and thrive.”

Caldwell-Johnson then engaged both proponents and skeptics in an informative discussion about the potential benefits and pitfalls and how the ESA policy plays out very differently from state to state. Kate Baker Demers of Children’s Scholarship Fund in New Hampshire shared stories of individual students and families for whom their “NH Education Freedom Account” allowed them, for example, to escape bullying or access a smaller school setting with more support or additional special education services. On the contrary, Beth Davis of Save Our Schools Arizona Network shared how ESAs in Arizona took $300 million from the education budget in the first year with little to no oversight of taxpayer dollars ― noting that Arizona already has one of the lowest per-pupil investment in public education Joann Mickens of Parents for Public Schools (PPS) summed up why PPS stands for public schools over public funds being used for ESAs:

“Public schools are open to everybody with any kind of disability. They’re open to anyone who speaks any language of any skin color of any geography within that school community. So public schools for us are always the answer.”