Education Savings Accounts: The Next Generation of School Privatization

• In Event: Education Employment and Personnel

Abstract

Building on prior research addressing voucher systems and tax credit/scholarship programs, this project analyzed education savings accounts (ESAs), the most recent and far-reaching school privatization strategy. ESAs have changed the paradigm from the provision of government funds to support private schooling to a consumer-driven model that allows parents to customize their children’s education using public funds. The ESAs adopted and proposed are analyzed, including their legal vulnerability under federal and state constitutions. ESAs have the potential to alter the nature and structure of education in the U.S., so policymakers need to fully understand what is at stake.

Author

• Martha M. McCarthy, Loyola Marymount University