More states are moving forward in passing universal school choice laws to serve children’s learning needs.  The purpose of school choice programs is to provide families with the widest possible access to a high-quality, publicly-funded education.

Oklahoma appears set to be the latest to join this growing movement.

Today the Oklahoma state Senate passed the “Oklahoma Parental Choice Credit Act,” to fund scholarships worth up to $7,500 each to allow children to attend a private school.  A companion bill has already passed the Oklahoma House.  Next, lawmakers will forge a compromise bill to send to Governor Ken Stitt for his signature.  Oklahoma school children could be benefitting from access to choice as soon as this fall.

Education advocates are already calling 2023 as The Year of School Choice, calling the popular school choice movement a “juggernaut” and a “revolution” in forward-looking reform.  In the last three months four states – Iowa, Utah, Arkansas and Florida – have enacted universal school choice programs.

These states join Arizona and West Virginia in offering families universal choice in education.  In addition, caring lawmakers in 13 states, including Montana, Nebraska and Texas, are moving ahead with learning choice programs.

These states are part of a worldwide trend.  Recent findings released by Ed Choice report:

“The proportion of students in government-funded private schools is sizable in countries such as Australia (25 percent), Belgium (58 percent), Denmark (11 percent), France (16.8 percent), South Korea (21 percent), the Netherlands (76 percent), Spain (24 percent), and the United Kingdom (30 percent).”

Limited choice programs have existed for decades.  Thirty-two states have well-established successful programs, but the number of children they are allowed to serve is restricted. The recent school lock-downs, however, seem to have sparked renewed interest in many communities, as parents witnessed first hand the failure of online classes and the academic weakness of many traditional public school programs.

So far lawmakers in Washington state lag far behind in giving families access to school choice. But this popular idea is clearly moving forward in other states, and their example may one day open the eyes of elected leaders in our state as well.