Gov. Landry urges support for state-funded Educational Savings Accounts

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Saying he hopes to transform Louisiana’s challenged educational system, Governor Jeff Landry rallied support Thursday at two Catholic schools for a plan that would allow parents to use state money to choose the best school for their children.

The Legislature is considering separate bills that would create state-funded Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) that parents could use to defray the cost of tuition for private or Catholic schools, home-schooling or tutoring.

The governor urged the Senate to follow the lead of the House and phase in the ESA program over three years, which would start with special-needs students and those from low-income families and then grow to include more middle-income families in the second year and, finally, all families in year three.

The governor urged parents at Archbishop Rummel High School and Mary Queen of Peace Elementary School in Mandeville to contact their legislators to support an initiative that he said would shake up the state’s decades-long slide into economic and educational mediocrity.

“On Jan. 7, the day I was inaugurated, we chose the theme, ‘Coming Home,’ because we want people to start coming back to the state,” Landry said. “So many people have left this state, and we know it. We’ve watched so many children leave the state for better opportunities and a higher quality of life. Our mission is to make sure Louisiana has a bigger welcome mat. What we’re trying to do is move one piece on the chessboard.”

Fourteen states have some form of school choice, and Landry said giving all parents the right to decide the right school for their children will create competition and enhance achievement but not at the expense of public schools.

Landy said he is not aware of any public school that has closed in any of the states that endorsed school choice plans. He said political will has to remain solid to turn around Louisiana’s educational system.

“This is part of a longer-lasting commitment that we have got to maintain to finally lift Louisiana from 50th – from the bottom  – to the top so that these kids can start becoming great adults and stay in the state,” Landry said.

Landry said he is willing to accept well-meaning amendments to the ESA legislation, but he said he would not be deterred from seeing the core package become law.

“We’ve got an opportunity to address some of those concerns, and all of those concerns are valid concerns,” he said. “But, at some point, we’re not going to make ‘perfect’ the enemy of the ‘good.’This is going to get us in a posture of being able to compete with this great migration that is going on all around the country – and all of these businesses and people who are looking for a place that is safe and free to raise a family.”

Dr. RaeNell Houston, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said school choice for all families is an educational option that can no longer be delayed.

“That universal piece is key,” Houston said. “We have a lot of middle-class families who are struggling to pay tuition and are working two or three jobs to make ends meet and paying tuition for their kids to get a good education,” she said. “We have to include that universal piece because every child, regardless of zip code, income, ethnic or religious background, deserves an excellent education.”

Houston said she is reassured that the ESA program will not place any undue burdens on Catholic schools. They still will maintain their admissions policies and control their curricula. 

“We understand that we will be able to keep our admissions criteria and continue to have our admissions processes,” Houston said. “We can’t take every child and we can’t accommodate every family. When it comes to special needs programming, we have some programming, but we can’t meet every need. We recognize that a Catholic school cannot meet the needs of every child and every family. We just recognize that parents should have the option.”

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