How more education freedom can create less complication
Education freedom is creating more options for families. That has long been the goal.
But there is a risk we should address before the market gets even bigger: every new funding program can also create another system families have to navigate.
A state ESA may have one application and payment process. A tax-credit scholarship may have another. The new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit will introduce another source of private scholarship funding. Families could soon have access to more resources than ever before—but through a collection of disconnected accounts, platforms and rules. That’s inconvenient!
Families may choose the program that is easiest to navigate rather than the combination of educational experiences that best serves their child. Providers may decide that accepting multiple forms of education funding is not worth the administrative burden. States may respond to concerns about duplicate funding by adding more restrictions, documentation and red tape.
We have an opportunity to build something better.
Our new paper, One Student. One Account. Every Funding Source., explores a different organizing principle: Start with the student, not the program.
Under the concept, the portable state-funded, per student amount flows into a restricted student account and is directed by the parent toward the school or learning experiences they select. Scholarship Granting Organizations and other private funders like employers, private foundations, and family members, including parents could add resources to the same financial infrastructure, while each funding source maintains its own rules.
The idea deliberately borrows from something families and state governments already understand: the 529. Families can have an education account that allows for transparency in the funding. Financial institutions can handle identify verification, fraud prevention, and payments, and technology platforms can focus on making the experience easier for families.
It’s also an opportunity for states to think differently about infrastructure. Instead of building another bespoke financial system for every new program, states could build around durable financial infrastructure that follows the student.
Most importantly, this empowers families with something they rarely have today: a clear view of the resources available for their child, where those dollars came from, and how they are being used.
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