CHOICE: Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Legislation to Have Federal Education Dollars Follow the Child to School Option of Choice

WASHINGTON, D.C. – One of the great debates related to the Pandemic Panic has been the reopening of schools amid widespread (and fomented) fear among teachers leading many public schools to offer remote learning only. Yet, when the public schools refuse to open, many students and parents are left with few alternatives.

Choice in education, especially during the Pandemic Panic, is vital. And it’s exactly why Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) filed the Senate Bill 4432, or the SCHOOL Act.

From the Office of Senator Rand Paul:

“Yesterday, U.S. Senator and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee member Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced S. 4432, the Support Children Having Open Opportunities for Learning (SCHOOL) Act to provide parents and students with much-needed flexibility and options regarding K-12 education.
 
“As the impact of the ongoing pandemic and the government response efforts continue to place parents in situations requiring greater flexibility in balancing working and providing for their families’ critical needs, especially when educating their children at home, my SCHOOL Act grants them that flexibility by empowering them to use their own tax dollars to find the option that best fits their family’s needs and allowing them to reclaim a bit of stability in uncertain times,” said Dr. Paul. 
 
While federal education dollars are currently sent to states and then distributed amongst public school districts, Dr. Paul’s legislation would allow federal funds for K-12 education to follow the eligible child, learning in person or remotely, to the school of their choice. 
 
Whether in public school, private school, or homeschool, the funds can be used for a wide range of educational needs, including tuition, curriculum materials, technology, support for special education, or classes outside the home.
 
As families face the reality of hybrid learning or a completely virtual school year, students, especially those with disabilities, need a choice in education and the tools to succeed no matter where they are learning. 
 
You can read the SCHOOL Act HERE, and you can find more information below:
 
S. 4432, Dr. Rand Paul’s Support Children Having Open Opportunities for Learning (SCHOOL) Act

• • Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to allow certain funds authorized under those laws to follow a child, whether learning in person or remotely, to the public school, private school, or homeschool of the family’s choice

• • Allows those funds to be used for a range of needs, including: 

o    Curriculum materials
o    Technological educational materials
o    Tutoring
o    Extracurricular activities
o    Private school tuition; and
o    Support for Special Education

• • Ensures each child would receive the same amount of funding, regardless of where the child is enrolled

• • Ensures students who choose to take advantage of these opportunities could still benefit from federally funded school food programs

• • Protects non-public education providers from federal and state control”

The wannabe teachers union in North Carolina, and those around the country, are fighting tooth and nail against charter schools, private schools, and even the freedom to homeschool your children. They file lawsuits to stop voucher programs to help low-income students escape failing public schools.

It is THEY, those at the woke public schools, who are the only ones who should have control of your child’s education.

For the single working parent with school-age kids, an all virtual schooling mandate is problematic for obvious reasons. Legislation like the SCHOOL Act would give those parents and students the flexibility to actually pursue education options right for them.

If the Left were really about the education of the child, Democrats would support the SCHOOL Act. Of course, public-school-only activists have made it perfectly clear that their real interest is in granting groups like the NCAE control over the child’s education.

Paul’s legislation should be mirrored by school choice advocates in the N.C. General Assembly. There is no reason why education dollars should not follow kids to wherever they and their parents determine is the best schooling option for them.

After all, the North Carolina Constitution demands that ‘the means of education shall forever be encouraged.’ This mandate is not even being remotely fulfilled if kids are trapped in public schools that won’t even open until demands like universal healthcare and welfare payments for illegals are met.