As the COVID-19 pandemic has required families to retool how their children are learning, a November 2022 ballot measure would provide each student in California with a savings account to fund the education option that works best for them.
Every October the state does its census count for K-12 education, which is expected to show a continued decline in enrollment, Lance Christensen, chief strategist Chief for the Education Savings Account Act of 2022, told the Northern California Record.
“All the indications are that school districts across the state are losing between 2 and 5 percent of their population,” Christensen said. “Either they’re going to private school, homeschooling, or leaving the state entirely.”
The pandemic exposed many problems in the education system, but state lawmakers haven’t passed legislation proposed to change the system, which spends upwards of $18,000 annually for each student.
The Fix California website states the Education Savings Account Act would allow the money already being spent to follow the student to an education setting of their choice.
- The savings account would have $13,000 for a student to use at an accredited school or homeschool, without additional cost to taxpayers.
- It would be available to all K-12 students, phased-in to low income first, middle income next, then all students in four years.
- Any unused funds – up to $60,000 – could be used by the student for college or vocational school.
The fiscal assessment by the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO), notes the change wouldn’t be a financial burden on Californians.
“Increased costs related to students moving from public schools [would be] more than offset by lower spending on public schools,” the LAO analysis states.
Enrollment in California’s K-12 public schools declined by nearly 3 percent in 2020-21, which is roughly 160,000 students, Ed Source reported, citing data from the California Department of Education.
Meanwhile, the State Auditor on Tuesday issued a report on the state Department of Education’s lack of oversight on federal COVID-19 relief funding.
“Because local educational agencies (LEAs) are not consistently reporting spending data, Education does not have the information necessary to oversee LEAs’ use of funds to meet educational and safety needs of their students,” the audit summary states.
Changing public education system by voter referendum could face pushback from the unions representing teachers.
The 300,000-member California Teachers Association – an affiliate of the National Education Association – regularly contributes to Democratic lawmakers, who hold the majority of seats in the California Legislature, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
But organized labor doesn’t accurately represent the interests of students, Christensen said, noting the union demands made before public school teachers went back to classrooms delayed California’s in-person learning far longer than necessary.
Parents throughout the state have been rallying against orders levied on school children amid the pandemic.
“Our initiative is a broad base of support that provides for the neediest students first and everyone else after, and is a bipartisan approach,” Christensen said. “In the end, we believe that the choices provide for competition, and competition improves everything around it.”