When Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the Arkansas LEARNS act into law on March 8, Arkansas became the 11th state to adopt “education savings accounts” that afford families the most educational financial flexibility and choice.

A.D. Motzen, an Orthodox rabbi and national director of government affairs at Agudath Israel of America, told JNS that 2021 was “a breakthrough year of school choice” due to the “sheer number of states creating new or expanding existing programs.”

“However 2023 may become the year of universal school choice,” he said. “Following on the heels of Arizona and West Virginia, three more states passed universal school choice programs already in 2023. The bar has been raised, and parents are more engaged on this issue than ever before, so I expect to see other states and especially governors trying to compete for the boldest program.”

Agudah is currently working in Texas, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio said Motzen.

Jason Bedrick, an education policy research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told JNS that 2021 was a big year for school choice because, during the COVID pandemic, parents got the chance to see on Zoom what their children were learning daily. Depending on the age of students, that might have included instruction related to critical race theory or Black Lives Matter; transgender policies governing bathroom use; and “social transitioning,” or using different names and pronouns for children without informing their parents.

“School choice has stabilized neighborhoods, as it took away the incentive of young families to move to the suburbs in search of better schooling,” he said. “All Americans benefit when parents can choose the educational setting that best meets their child’s needs.” — A.D. Motzen

‘Creating a price floor’

In 2021, 19 states enacted 32 new or expanded educational choice programs, according to Bedrick. That number not only overshadowed prior years, but the programs were larger in scope. West Virginia passed the first publicly funded, universal education savings account program that year.

Arizona’s new law creates “educational freedom accounts,” which are the state’s take on what others call education savings accounts (ESAs). A school voucher is a one-time, single-use coupon, while an ESA is a “restricted use bank account that you can use for a wide variety of educational expenses,” whether tuition, tutoring, textbooks, homeschooling curricula, or therapy for children with special needs.

“It recognizes that education doesn’t have to be in one building called the school,” said Bedrick. “With a voucher, you’re creating a price floor, and as we’ve seen in higher education, there is the potential for tuition inflation.”

Since families don’t have to spend ESAs at once in the same place, there is no price floor, and schools compete not just against one another but against tutoring, textbooks, and future savings. “There’s a much stronger competitive downward pressure on price,” he said.

Motzen said school choice is a good public policy that is becoming more popular. “We are on the right side of history on this issue,” he said. “What we have to do is speak up louder and get more involved to ensure that these policies are expanded.”

Orthodox Jewish families who live in states with school choice can send their children to schools that best meet their needs and receive tuition scholarships. And even those without school-aged children can benefit, according to Motzen.