The 100 Report
ESAs go into Effect in Missouri Today
Today Empowerment Scholarship Accounts officially go into effect in Missouri providing parents with more options in their children’s education. The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri put together a website highlighting the program and explaining to parents how to use it. You can visit ShowMeSchoolOptions.com to learn more about the ESA program now in effect. This was a landmark piece of legislation that conservatives have been pushing for decades. Anti-Choice organizations are already pushing back having recently filed a petition to get an anti-school choice proposition onto the ballot. They will need to collect thousands of signatures before that can occur.
LISTEN: Senator Bill Eigel, Former Speaker Tim Jones break down the biggest news of the week
School Choice Provides Options for Parents
By State Representative Phil Christofanelli
Parents should not be forced to send their kids to schools that teach curriculum contrary to their values. Likewise they shouldn't have to worry about their small children being forced to wear a mask for 8 hours a day. Parents are rightly concerned about divisive curriculum like Critical Race Theory and for wanting their kindergarteners to be able to breathe mask-free. Over the past few months, many parents who have never been involved in school politics before have flooded school board meetings to try to prevent leftist school boards from imposing their agenda.
Lawmakers in Jefferson City and around the country have begun to put forward proposals and solutions to fight things like CRT and mask mandates in schools. Unfortunately many of these proposals fall short of addressing the root of the problem: lack of school choice. We need to empower families to truly take charge of their children's education and be able to choose different schools if their current school does not reflect their values or concerns. Schools that attempt to push through divisive curriculum like CRT or impose mask mandates would very quickly lose students if parents were simply allowed to send their children elsewhere at no additional cost to themselves.
This past session, the legislature passed my bill, HB349, which creates the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Program. This is the first step in creating real school choice in Missouri. Under the legislation, families can apply to receive a scholarship of up to $6,375 to use as they see fit on their child's education. This means less children stuck in schools that don't fit their needs, as well as empowering families to get their children out of schools that are implementing CRT or mask mandates.
If lawmakers are serious about combating CRT and mask mandates on our children, they must focus on expanding school choice. Increasing the number of families who can receive aid through programs like ESAs and expanding the scope of the program to everywhere in Missouri should be a priority of legislators seriously hoping to address unresponsive school districts. School districts must be forced to think twice when it comes to implementing policies and curriculum that many parents in their district do not want forced on their children.
Catch Rep. Phil Christofanelli on The Spirit of Saint Louis Show
Saturday - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Sunday - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Spirit of Saint Louis Show will focus on the people who are working to make our region a better place to live. Each week, we will feature interviews with community leaders, entrepreneurs, charities, entertainers, activists, and ordinary Missourians who are making the American dream a reality.
Tune in on the dial or stream it here.
