The Alliance supports an environment of school options where every family has the opportunity to choose a high-quality school that best suits the diverse needs of their learners. This belief is driven by the understanding that the best school model for one child or family might not meet the needs of another, and that public education dollars are allocated for the purpose of educating students, regardless of school governance type.
That support, however, is rooted in a belief that our state’s leaders have a responsibility to ensure the quality of those choices and that parents are empowered with the information that will help them navigate an increasingly complex tapestry of school options. The challenge in Baton Rouge is providing something better for the 15,000 largely low-income public school students attending D- and F-rated schools. For ESA legislation to be a solution for the children in our capital city, it must prioritize our most vulnerable and underserved students as well as provide a strong school accountability framework that ensures transparency on school quality.