State legislative sessions recently wrapped, and many states continued to advance school choice policies that empower parents to make the best educational choices for their children.
In addition to expanding or creating education freedom programs, some states passed reading reforms while others removed burdensome regulations on alternative learning options such as microschools.
State Policy Network’s affiliates, in addition to many other policy organizations, played a significant role in advancing these policies for the children and families in their states. Those state think tanks include the Alabama Policy Institute, Empower Mississippi, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Libertas Institute, Mississippi Center for Public Policy, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Pelican Institute, and Show-Me Institute.
Take a look below at the education reforms passed during the state legislative sessions in 2024.
*If you are an affiliate that would like a reform added to this list, please reach out to Camille Walsh at walsh@spn.org.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey enacted universal education freedom legislation—giving thousands of Alabama children access to more education opportunities. The CHOOSE Act allows for up to $7,000 in state funding per student in the form of a tax-credit Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).
The Georgia Governor signed legislation that creates an Education Savings Account (ESA) program in the Peach State. Called “Promise Scholarships,” the program will give students in low-performing schools the opportunity to apply for funds that can be used to pay for education-related items, including books, uniforms, and even private school tuition.
The Promise Scholarship Act, or SB233, will give scholarships of $6,500 to students in the bottom performing 25% of schools. The program will start next year and be capped at 1% of the state’s education formula for the previous year, or $141 million in 2025.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed legislation that creates the state’s first Education Savings Account (ESA) program. Also called the “Giving All True Opportunity to Rise” (GATOR) Scholarship Program, students can begin to sign up next spring and start receiving funds in August 2025. The per-student amount(s) will be set by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). The GATOR program is open to all K-12 students in the state, regardless of income.
As the Pelican Institute explains, in addition to using the funds for private school tuition, families can use the GATOR scholarship program to: hire instructors or tutors; Enroll their child in an online/virtual educational program; Purchase curriculum and other instructional materials; Build a hybrid program consisting of homebased education and attending a public or private school part-time; or Design an educational program that is entirely home-based.
Mississippi policymakers passed a law that replaces the state’s current student education formula with a new system that focuses on the unique needs of individual students.
The state currently funds its public education system through the Mississippi Adequate Education Funding Formula Program, or MAEP system. “Under MAEP, the money does not always get to where it is most needed: the classroom,” said Douglas Carswell, President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
Lawmakers replaced this system with the Mississippi Student Funding Formula—a new weighted student funding formula for distributing tax dollars to public school districts based on the characteristics of the students within each district. The formula will award each student $6,695. Some students may get additional funding on top of that, based on their unique needs. For example, students with disabilities or students from lower income households will receive more money.
With this new system, education funding now follows the student.
In May 2024, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed legislation that expands the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program. The ESA expansion is part of a larger education reform package, SB 727, which also increases teacher salaries and makes it easier for charter schools to open in Boone County.
Thanks in part to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), Oklahoma passed a law to improve reading scores for students in the Sooner State. The legislation, SB 362, or the Strong Readers Act, requires teachers to be trained in the science of reading. As OCPA president Jonathan Small explained, the science of reading refers to instructional methods, which include phonics, proven to help students read.
SB 362 also prohibits Oklahoma teachers from using the discredited “three cueing” method to teach reading. The three cueing method is a model of teaching students to read that research has found does not work. In fact, the method is so discredited that 10 other states have banned the use of the three-cueing system.
The Utah Governor signed legislation that removes significant barriers for microschools—small multi-family learning environments that are designed and operated around the educational needs of the particular students they serve.
Everything You Need to Know About Education Savings Accounts
State Policy Network
Polling Spotlight: State Think Tanks Need to Generate More Awareness on Education Savings Accounts
State Policy Network
Microschools: Explained
State Policy Network
Everything You Need to Know About Homeschooling
State Policy Network
