Nevada Parents Stand Up for School Choice

On Sept. 17, 2015, a group of five Nevada families partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to defend Nevada’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program against two lawsuits challenging its constitutionality. By formally intervening into the lawsuits, the families will ensure that the 450,000 students eligible for the program are represented as the
lawsuits progress through the courts. The two lawsuits were filed by the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Nevada branch and Educate Nevada Now (ENN).

“Nevada’s school choice program is one of the largest, most innovative programs in the country, which is precisely why it has come under so much fire.” said IJ senior attorney Tim Keller. “It empowers parents and fosters healthy competition in the state’s education system.”

Under the new law, which doesn’t go into effect until 2016, families with children in public schools can opt out of the public school system and receive a flexible scholarship to use on a wide variety of educational services—including private school tuition, tutoring, or distance learning,
among other other options. They can even take classes a la carte from public schools or pay for courses at community colleges. The program puts parents in the driver's seat of their children’s education, and offers a multitude of choices to find the best fit
for their kids.

The ACLU’s lawsuit argues that the newly-minted program furthers a religious or sectarian purpose because it allows parents to choose religious educational options for their children. But allowing parents to make the decision about where to educate their own children severs any link between church and state. The ENN lawsuit does not make any claims regarding religion. It argues that the public school system is the exclusive means of paying for education in Nevada, but there is no reason why families should not have more say over how their own tax dollars are spent, especially when it comes to something as crucial as their children’s education.

For families, ESAs will help their children escape Nevada’s overcrowded and inadequate public school system.

http://ij.org/nevada-school-choice
Donate to IJ: https://ij.org/support/give-now/