State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough announced this week he plans to bring up a comprehensive school choice bill in the 2024 legislative session.
Yarbrough (R-Trinity) talked about what his bill will look like during a recent appearance on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”
“That should be coming here very soon,” Yarbrough said. “We’re still kind of fine tuning it, but really as a member of the Republican Party, and to me even more important as a conservative, I think it’s really important that we be guided by our principles.”
The lawmaker said his bill will built around five pillars including universal availability, flexibility for parents, autonomy for private schools, transparency for public school curriculum, and it must not increase the size or scope of government.
“I think a clean school choice bill is not going to be used as an attempt to increase government spending or government influence, but rather is going to return the money and power to the hands of our people,” he argued. “If we’re going to talk about gambling this session, let’s take a gamble on our parents and see what the free market and those grass roots values can produce.”
Yarbrough said it will be up to parents to speak out if they want his reforms to have a chance of making it through the Legislature.
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“Our elected officials in the House and Senate need to hear more from their people than they do from lobbyists,” he said. “It was a shocking thing to me in person to hear the disdain that some of the groups like the AEA have for the parents of Alabama.”
He also believes there is momentum to get some kind of school choice bill passed, but is worried that it will not be the right kind of bill to really help education in the state.
“I believe I’m hearing this time from leadership and other people that they believe some kind of school choice will be passed,” he said. “My concern is that it be good school choice and that it be a school choice that not only leaves private schools and homeschoolers alone, but ultimately, especially, just give to parents without strings attached.”
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
