For Pennsylvania-style choice

In a post yesterday ('Speaker to file choice bill'), I noted that The Oklahoman reported that Oklahoma House Speaker Kris Steele said he would file a bill "based on a Pennsylvania measure. It allows individuals and corporations to donate to a scholarship-granting organization in return for a tax credit; children in any school district could apply for the scholarship to help pay the cost of attending the school of their choice or to help pay tutoring costs."

Needless to say, I was quite pleased that the Speaker would file a Pennsylvania-style choice bill. The Pennsylvania school choice program provides a tax credit for contributions to scholarship organizations which give private school scholarships. It also provides a tax credit for Educational Improvement Organizations (EIOs) which support innovative programs in public schools, but that portion was added in the sausage-making process merely to secure passage. It's the tail, not the dog, and no one in the school-choice movement is confused about which is which.

Unfortunately, Oklahoma HB 2133 is all about the government-run schools, with nothing for private schools. I'm not sure the bill merits opposition, but it's certainly nothing to get excited about. Still, I think it's too early to give up on it. The Speaker believes some children should have options to attend private schools, and thanks in part to his leadership those children now have those options. So I'm hopeful HB 2133 can be amended to look more like Sen. Dan Newberry's SB 969, which truly is a Pennsylvania-style school choice bill.

Speaker to file choice bill

The "65% solution" makes for good headlines, but the real news here is that the House Speaker himself is filing a Pennsylvania-style tax-credit scholarship bill. That's huge.

Legislation like this will help hundreds (and eventually thousands) of Oklahoma students. And unlike with the Henry Scholarships, rogue school districts won't be unable to interfere.

Oklahoma leaders want kids to have more options

Kris Steele

I mentioned yesterday that Speaker-elect Kris Steele supports school choice for special-needs kids (and I suspect for plenty more kids as well).

Brian Bingman

Oklahoma's new Senate leader, Brian Bingman, also supported the special-needs scholarship bill and favors other school choice options as well. Sen. Bingman was among a group of Oklahomans who traveled to Pennsylvania last year to see firsthand how school choice is working there. As Patrick McGuigan reported, "the group visited 'choice' schools in the Keystone State, talked with organizers of Pennsylvania's tax credit program, interacted with a bipartisan mix of lawmakers and activists, and had the opportunity to press for details on how the program works in practice."

Mary Fallin

And our friends at the Center for Education Reform remind us that our Governor-elect, Mary Fallin, is also a friend of school choice. Indeed, while in Congress, Fallin co-sponsored the "School Choice for Foster Kids Act," a bill which would authorize states to provide vouchers to foster kids to cover tuition costs at private schools.

Janet Barresi

Add to this a new state Superintendent, Janet Barresi, who helped launch two public charter schools and who supports a variety of choice options (including school choice for special-needs kids).

In short, we are entering a new era in Oklahoma, and likely will be participating in the seismic shift that is taking place nationwide.

Speaker-elect favors special-needs scholarships

Congratulations to state Rep. Kris Steele (R-Shawnee), the new Speaker-elect of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Earlier this year on the House floor, Rep. Steele voiced his support for the special-needs scholarship program and vowed to stick with it for the long haul.

Rep. Steele also offered the invocation prior to OCPA's September 15 dinner in Tulsa featuring Sarah Palin, another big fan of Oklahoma's special-needs scholarship law.