The Louisiana Senate Education Committee has approved legislation that will one day allow every family to apply for state dollars to pay for private school tuition or other education-related expenses.
Carencro Representative Julie Emerson is a co-author of the bill and says parents should have options on how their child should be educated.
“I think this is incredibly empowering for parents to be able to take those tax dollars that they give us in a way for us to give it back to them where they can truly choose how their child is educated,” said Emerson.
The LA Gator Scholarship Program would begin with the 2025-26 school year. At first, it would just provide taxpayer dollars to low income families, but income requirements would ease over time and it would be open to all families starting with the 2028-29 school year.
Monroe Senator Katrina Jackson-Andrews was the only lawmaker to vote against the bill in Senate Education. Jackson-Andrews says families who have children attending a well performing schools should not be eligible for this program.
Jackson said, “If schools have A and B scores, that means that child’s needs are being met. So why add A and B schools to this?”
Sen. Rick Edmonds of Baton Rouge responded, “Why would you prohibit a parent from choosing where they want their child to get their best quality education if that’s their opinion?”
The Louisiana School Boards Association strongly opposes the the creation of education savings accounts.
Dannie Garrett with LSBA says ESAs spend taxpayer dollars without the accountability demanded of public schools. He also said there is no evidence it will improve education
“Her statements about educating all of our children but this doesn’t make a low performing school better,” he said.
The Public Affairs Research Council says the LA Gator Scholarship Program would cost $650 million annually in five to seven years.