RETHINK

Education

About the Video

All Utah parents should be able to be directly involved in how their child is educated with public funds.

Monopolies in the education system have stifled innovation and limited a parent’s options to customize their child’s learning. Education reforms like charter schools and open enrollment have had moderate success but lack the innovative nature to truly reinvent the system.

Flexible Education Spending Accounts (FSA) offer an opportunity for parents to go beyond choosing where their child is educated to having a say in how their child is educated.

Featured Interviews

Kera Birkeland:

“I think one-size education works about as well as one-size-fits-all parenting. It’s not effective.”

Kera Birkeland
Utah Parent

Tom Greene:

“Parents know their kids the best, they know what they need. So being able to give them that power to choose what’s best for their child will help their child reach their fullest potential.”

Tom Greene
Regional Advocacy Director, Excel in Ed

Christina Sandefur:

“This is a win win situation. As students participate in the program… some of that money is staying in the public school system, and that means per pupil spending will go up.”

Christina Sandefur
Exec. Vice President, Goldwater Institute

Chris Jones:

“Every kid is going to need some kind of flexibility and better engagement.”

Chris Jones
Utah Parent and Teacher

Connor Boyack:

“We need to stop expecting all children to be served from the same decades-old system that really hasn’t changed that much.”

Connor Boyack
President, Libertas Institute

Why Education Choice?

Leveling the Playing Field

For too many children, the odds of attending a good school depend on where they live; not all parents can afford to change that. FSAs would give parents the financial resources to pick the very best learning environment for their children.

Some Students Need Options Now

Far too many of students are trapped in schools that are failing them. They shouldn’t be left without any options. Those students and their parents need access to programs that will work better for them now—not years from now.

Special Needs

Children with learning disabilities or special needs, or those who are being bullied in schools, could greatly benefit from FSAs. Alternative options from which to choose increase the likelihood of educational success and satisfaction.

Parental Engagement

A child’s chances for success and achievement increase tremendously if the parents engage in the education process. Giving parents choice in how their child is educated increases that likelihood by enabling new opportunities.

Innovation

As families choose from a richer variety of educational experiences, all schools will be incentivized to provide the best services and programs possible, enabling Utahns to make the best use of the education dollars with more options to choose from.

Flexibility

FSAs allow parents to take a flexible, a la carte approach to their child’s learning, using a combination of individualized learning resources to build a unique program that helps their child reach their full potential.