- Tuesday, May 19th, 2020
Military Kids Change School Up to 9 Times. So Let’s Make It Easier.
By the time most military children complete secondary school, they will have switched schools up to nine times. These frequent changes between schools of strikingly varying quality trouble military children both socially and academically. Though Congress has written legislation that would ease transitions for military children and add flexibility to their parents’ choices for education, the bill, the Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2019, has sat in committee since March.
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Another bill, the CHOICE Act, sponsored by Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, is also stalled in committee. In terms of scope, the CHOICE Act is targeted and smaller. It would authorize $10 million per year, rather than the ESA Act’s $1.2 billion per year. Though both bills are funded through the Department of Education, if the CHOICE Act advances through the legislative process, it would most likely be attached to the annual defense budget.
The stakes are high. Education Savings Accounts or a similar voucher system could help over 528,000 children — active-duty service members’ kids who often have to play catch-up as they hop from school district to school district because of their parents’ assignments.
…Admittedly, fighting for legislation to help the children of active-duty service members doesn’t make for headline-grabbing news. But as the mother of four, married to an Army officer in his 25th year of service, I know that proposed legislation, such as the Educational Savings Account Act or the CHOICE Act, would bring needed flexibility to many military families.
Full article here.