COMMENTARY: Expanding choice is fastest path to improving schools

Greta Alexander felt powerless to help her son overcome addiction before he overdosed in 2023. Determined to give her daughter, Miracle, a different future — one free from the drugs and the dysfunction of the local public school — Greta searched for another option.

That dream seemed out of reach until Miracle received a scholarship to attend a private school through ACE Scholarships. Today, Miracle is thriving, excelling academically and socially, and dreaming of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Her story proves that when families are empowered with options, lives can be transformed.

Luckily, lawmakers in Greta and Miracle’s home state of Texas recently passed a landmark $1 billion school choice program to ensure fewer senseless tragedies — and more Miracles. Not every student lives in a state with a school choice program. That’s why federal lawmakers must seize the momentum and pass the Educational Choice for Children Act, a game changer expanding education freedom to all 50 states.

School choice works. In Ohio, the Urban Institute found that students who participated in the state’s scholarship program outperformed their public school peers, especially regarding the likelihood of attending a higher education institution.

State scholarship participants’ college readiness improved dramatically, with 32 percent more likely to enroll in college than their public school peers. Additionally, the program’s effect is profound on Black students, increasing their likelihood of attending college by 37 percent. This is more than a long-term policy success. It’s an education blueprint for upward mobility.

As CEO of ACE Scholarships, I have overseen the delivery of more than 100,000 scholarships worth $330 million over the Past 25 years. We’ve seen similar performance results across the 12 states we serve. By fourth grade, our students achieve 72 percent reading proficiency, compared to 32 percent nationally in public schools. In math, 70 percent of our eighth-graders are proficient, far exceeding the 26 percent in public schools.

Yet too many families are trapped in underperforming schools. According to the recent National Assessment of Education Progress, reading scores in 2024 continued to decline from 2019, with 70 percent of eighth-grade students failing to reach reading proficiency. Only 28 percent of our nation’s eighth-grade students in 2024 were proficient in math. Math outcomes remain unchanged from 2022, after dropping sharply by 8 points from 2019, meaning the nation’s students have not recovered from pandemic-related learning loss. This is nothing short of a national crisis.

To expand opportunity for millions of families, Congress should pass the Educational Choice for Children Act. This legislation would create a tax credit for individuals who donate to nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations so parents can send their children to a school they choose. This approach could open the door to a better education for lower-income students in states that do not have their programs.

As lawmakers navigate the passage of the reconciliation bill and explore ways to improve America’s economic well-being, they must not lose sight of creative reforms that have changed lives. Expanding school choice is a fast, scalable solution that doesn’t require waiting on reluctant states to act.

While data and statistics matter, they don’t always tell the complete story. Transformations such as Greta’s and Miracle’s and countless others who benefit from educational choice illustrate what’s at stake. Better education leads to stronger families, revitalized communities and limitless opportunity.

Educational choice isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a lifeline for families desperately seeking a better future for their kids. This opportunity should be available to every child in every community across every state.

Changing education changes everything. Greta Alexander once sent her children to school with fear. Now, she does so with hope; it’s time for Congress to make that possible for every family.

Norton Rainey is the chief executive officer of ACE Scholarships. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.