The Parental Rights in Children’s Education (PRICE) Act, which would allow parents to get $6,000 in state tax dollars to put in an education savings account (ESA), has been filed in the Alabama House and Senate
Parents would be able to use the ESA money to put their children in a private school of their choice, or put it toward homeschooling.
State Sen. Larry Stutts (R-Tuscambia), who is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, said school choice will make education better for everyone is the state.
“Competition makes everybody better,” Stutts said in a press conference Tuesday. “When you look at the data from other states, most people are satisfied with their school. There’s not going to be a mass exodus from public schools to this. Approximately 2% of students usually move when a freedom bill like this is passed. And so we’re not looking at a mass exodus from one school to another, but it simply gives parents the freedom and the choice to do it.
“The parents that are already making that choice, it gives them the additional resources to improve their child’s education.”
Becky Gerritson, executive director of the Eagle Forum of Alabama, also promoted the bill during the press conference.
“What we love about this is that this won’t turn into some bureaucratic nightmare where the government is just controlling what’s happening with private schools and home schools,” Gerritson said. “These people that are using the program actually have a voice and will be helping the Department of Revenue run this program.
“In Alabama, we have wonderful laws that regulate homeschooling in Alabama. We have laws that regulate private schools in Alabama. Eight times in this bill it reiterates that those laws remain unchanged and this is just a funding bill that helps put the parent’s money that the state has already taken from them to educate their child, it now goes back into an account to be used for that child.”
State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) is sponsoring the bill in the House.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
