Yarbrough: Ivey promoting ESAs 'very encouraging to hear'

State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) is more optimistic than ever about the prospect of passing a good school choice bill in the upcoming session because it’s now getting the support of Gov. Kay Ivey.

The governor spoke at a rally in Montgomery to promote Alabama School Choice Week. During her speech she said any school choice legislation that comes up in the state should include education savings accounts (ESA).

“In this upcoming legislative session, my top priority is ensuring [an] education savings account bill crosses the finish line,” she said. “This is key legislation that will empower Alabama students and parents. And I look forward to signing this landmark bill into law, granting parents more rights in the education of their children.”

Yarbrough reacted to Ivey’s statement during a recent appearance on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”

“After all that happened with the last session and kind of helping to champion and lead that cause in the House, it was very encouraging to hear the vindication of that concept,” Yarbrough said. “Because at the end of the day it’s a vindication of our parents and that if we’re going to gamble, let’s gamble on our parents. Let’s give our parents the power to really take of their children’s education, and that’s the heart behind ESAs. So it was very encouraging.”

Yarbrough has not yet put a detailed proposal forward, but he did explain some of what he wants the bill to include.

“If we’re going to lead the nation like the governor has said, and be the most pro-school choice friendly state in the nation, I would prefer we make it available to everybody and set a responsible cap that we can move up,” he said. “So $400 million or whatever the case may be, our parents are more than worth that. But even if we have the worst case and phase it in let’s say over three years, what needs to drive that cap of money if maximum participation, and what needs to drive the moving up of that cap is not the growth of the ETF budget, the growth of government, but rather the growth of the demand and participation.”

The state lawmaker said he fully expects to receive some pushback from the Alabama Education Association (AEA).

“The money is there to serve the purpose of the education of our children,” he argued. “The money is not there to prop the teachers’ union. It’s not there to empower people in the state who are not the people primarily responsible for the education of our children. The government is not the primary party responsible, nor are they the primary party that funds it. It comes from us. We are the primary party responsible for the education of our children. The idea that the government is, it’s just straight Marxism.”

Yarbrough believes they will be able to pass the right legislation to expand educational opportunities in Alabama.

“I trust that through this whole process we will have a good bill that will actually be pro-school choice and pro-parents first and foremost, and not pro-government growth and not pro-increase of government taxation,” he concluded.

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