Ainsworth on school choice: 'I think we're going to have to phase it in'

As Republican leaders across Alabama continue to promote School Choice Week, there is still some debate on what an actual bill on the subject will look like in the upcoming session.

Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth is one of the biggest supporters of expanding options for parents in Alabama through Education Savings Accounts (ESA). He also believes the Legislature will pass a strong bill in 2024, but admitted the program might take a few years to fully implement.

Ainsworth discussed the issue recently on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”

“I’m going to try and fight to get the strongest bill we can,” Ainsworth said. “And to me the strongest bill we can is where every parent can decide where they want to send their children. So that’s what I’m going to push for, an ESA where they can take that money and decide where they want to go.”

One of the main issues that always complicates the debate around school choice is funding, which Ainsworth believes will create some challenges.

“I think we’re going to have to phase it in just from a budget standpoint,” he explained, “because I don’t think we can do it all year one. That’s not a concession, that’s just the reality of where we are at the budget process.”

Ainsworth discussed some of the ways they could possible phase in the program.

“The way it looks to me is you start at a grade,” he said. “Different states have done this. Every state that’s done it, they’ve phased it in just so you don’t have all the people that are in private schools right now, if you do an ESA, that’s going to be a big fiscal note to the ETF. Where if you phase it in you say this year we’re going to do Kindergarteners and first graders. And then the next year we’re going to do Kindergarten, first, and second and third…Then eventually you get to where every kid in the state is now covered K-12.”

He emphasized that he would rather not phase it in based on income brackets because he wants to expand options to as many parents as possible.

“This is just one idea I’ve got on how you can do it based on how other states have done it,” he said. “You just phase it in based on age. There are some people that want to phase it in based on income. I don’t really want to have an income component. I want to have it where anybody in the state can have school choice. And I think if you do it based on grade I think that’s a better way.”

Ainsworth said this is the time to pass school choice in Alabama because the idea has gained popularity across the country.

“The conversation’s changed,” he argued. “I think for so long the teachers’ union dominated the conversation and really changed the narrative and made it out to be that school choice is a bad thing. I think that now the narrative across this country is that not only is it working, but the right choice for students is for parents to be able to decide what’s best for their child. And when you phrase it that way, who’s not going to be for that?”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee