Education Policy, Business and Technology

Has School Choice Been All It Set Out to Be?

Governing: Kasey Locke has been diagnosed with autism. When her parents enrolled her in the public school in her town in Arizona, she had a hard time communicating, let alone learning. The Lockes, however, took advantage of an education savings account (ESA) program to sign their daughter up at a private school. ESAs work like vouchers, with one difference: The funds can be used not just for tuition but for other expenses, such as tutoring. For Kasey, the new school and continuing educational therapy did the trick. “With the ESA, the parents were able to put her in a private school that specializes in autism,” says Debbie Lesko, the majority whip in the Arizona Senate. “The child is not only learning, but thriving.”

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