Don’t Mess With Texas Parents: Yearslong Effort Culminates In Historic Educational Choice Victory
Educational freedom is finally coming to the Lone Star State! Families in Texas will now be able to choose the best educational option for their children, regardless of income or ZIP code, thanks to the recent enactment of an Education Savings Account (ESA) program.
This momentous victory was made possible by a yearslong, boots-on-the-ground movement by IJ’s activism team and our coalition of over 1,000 Texas parents fighting tirelessly on behalf of their children.
Texas’ ESA will be the largest rollout of an educational choice program in the nation’s history, with more families eligible to participate from day one than in any other state at the time of program creation—empowering thousands of families to take control of their children’s education.
ESAs are a form of educational choice that provide funds for a wide variety of educational expenses. For families with means, the ability to pay for alternative education when their child’s school is failing to meet their needs has always been available. But for low-income families, educational options often remain out of reach due to high costs. Now all Texas families will be eligible to apply for the program to cover costs like private school tuition, home-school materials, special-needs therapies, tutoring, trade programs, school supplies, and more. If demand exceeds supply, lower-income families and children with special needs will take priority.
IJ’s activism team built a coalition of more than 1,000 Texas parents to push for more educational options for families.
Over the past four years, IJ helped turn scores of parents into educational choice activists; hosted 30 events and webinars across the state; shared powerful research and family stories with lawmakers; and brought families on over 20 trips to lawmakers’ district offices and the Capitol in Austin to advocate on behalf of families across the state who need better educational options for their kids.
For Texas parent Shinara Morrison, the program will provide her son—whose learning needs were not met by his local public school—the opportunity to attend a private school where he can thrive under more personalized instruction. For Faithe Guerrero, the program will help offset the cost of home-school curriculum expenses and provide more learning opportunities for her children. And for father and veteran Hector Soto, the program will help cover tuition for his autistic son to attend a private school specifically tailored to students with special needs.
These are just three of the thousands of families who will now have access to the program. And this marks a milestone for educational freedom: With the enactment of Texas’ ESA, more than half of all children in the country now live in a state with an educational choice program.
IJ’s strong commitment to protecting the educational freedom of families throughout the nation helped make that possible. And when the program is undoubtedly challenged in court by opponents of choice, IJ and our partners at EdChoice will be there—alongside Shinara, Faithe, and Hector—to defend it every step of the way.
Sydney Travis is an IJ activism coordinator.
IJ’s Education Innovation Work Heats Up
IJ has always defended two distinct bedrock rights: (1) families’ right to direct their children’s education in the setting most appropriate for them and (2) people’s right to use their property free from arbitrary government restrictions. In a recent victory, we tackled encroachments on both of those rights—in record time.
This spring, IJ met Denise Lever, founder of a rural Arizona microschool. Microschools are small learning communities that serve as a child’s primary education or supplement their homeschooling. The microschool movement flourished in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—and especially so in Arizona following passage of a universal scholarship program.
Denise started Baker Creek Academy against that backdrop. With three other instructors, she serves about 50 students total. For three years, Baker Creek operated without issue. Until, that is, the state fire marshal’s office threatened to crush Denise’s model under regulations designed for traditional schools serving hundreds or thousands of students.
After an inspection in April, state fire deputies signaled that they would demand tens of thousands of dollars in building upgrades to match full-fledged public school requirements. All this even though local fire and building officials had long since approved Baker Creek’s opening.
Enter IJ. We sent a letter questioning the basis for the inspection. The state quickly backed down, claiming the threats to Baker Creek were mere “confusion.” A subsequent response to an IJ public records request revealed officials’ worries that enforcement would trigger a lawsuit.
It would have.
As the leader in defending choice in education, we were prepared to sue on behalf of Baker Creek. And we’ll remain the first line of defense for “edupreneurs” against outdated and ill-fitting regulations.
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