Dec. 14—GRAND FORKS — North Dakota lawmakers are gearing up to introduce a new round of school choice bills during the upcoming legislative session.
At least two state lawmakers, Rep. Eric Murphy and Sen. Michelle Axtman, plan to introduce bills that would allow families to spend state education dollars outside of public school districts, while outgoing Gov. Doug Burgum has proposed a program to directly supplement public and private educational institutions. and education for home-schooled students.
School choice refers to a wide range of education options that allow public education funding to be spent outside of public schools, such as voucher programs to reimburse private school tuition.
School choice bills have gained support across the country for giving families more leeway in choosing education options for children, but have been criticized for diverting government funding away from public schools and toward private and charter school programs that often have little oversight.
Still, it seems likely that some sort of school choice legislation will take effect in North Dakota next year, especially after a public school tuition reimbursement bill passed the House and Senate in 2023 to set aside $10 million.
before a veto is issued.
“Between the previous support in the Legislature and Governor Burgum’s budget proposal and Governor (-elect Kelly) Armstrong’s strong interest in education savings accounts, we are optimistic about the prospects this session,” said Scott Jensen, a former lawmaker from Wisconsin. works as a school choice lobbyist for the American Federation for Children.
Here are three possible paths lawmakers could take:
During last week’s budget address, Burgum proposed a $50 million pilot program to fund education savings accounts for each of North Dakota’s more than 118,000 public school students, as well as private and home-schooled students.
Burgum says the funding can pay for additional education costs, such as fees for extracurricular activities or other services that families may not be able to afford, with host school districts having to decide where those funds can go.
“If you have a child who you know is dyslexic and needs reading services and you have someone who can’t afford to pay the extra fee for the band, the art program or the cool trip, those can all be approved ,” Burgum told the Grand Forks Herald last week. “So for low-income families, this is the difference between their child being able to participate or not.”
Burgum’s proposal is notable because his pilot would fund the ESAs separately from state aid to public schools.
Luis Huerta, professor of education and public policy at Columbia University, says most states fund ESAs using the per-pupil payment system; Burgum, on the other hand, noted that his proposal would be “on top of” a 2% annual increase in the state aid payment.
“It definitely doesn’t sound like any of the current ESAs out there,” Huerta said. “This sounds more like a subsidy for additional services or extracurricular activities that each child receives, which is in line with the one-time expenses.”
Thirteen states have introduced education savings accounts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Lawmakers, including House Education and Environment Appropriations Chairman Mike Nathe and Armstrong, have expressed support for ESAs.
Even some critics of school choice have suggested they could be convinced to support Burgum’s proposal.
Aimee Copas, executive director of the North Dakota Council for Educational Leadership, wrote in an email to the Herald that the organization “could potentially support education savings accounts” if every student received equal support. (Other states’ ESA programs are nominally open to all students, Huerta said, but they end up subsidizing tuition for existing private school students because few students actually change schools.)
“If funds are distributed equally, ESAs can provide meaningful opportunities, such as tutoring or assistance with school meals, even for students in rural areas,” Copas wrote.
Others remain skeptical. House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, expressed concern that a bill like Burgum’s could serve as a “Trojan horse” for another school voucher proposal like the 2023 bill.
Murphy, a Republican who represents part of Grand Forks alongside Ista, said the outgoing governor’s speech should be taken with a grain of salt. Murphy is not a fan of ESAs, especially ESAs without income restrictions.
“Across the country, we’ve seen a lot of abuse. They always start by saying there’s going to be a list, and it has to come from that list that you spend the money on,” Murphy said. “But ESAs have the potential to become a runaway freight train.”
Axtman, a Republican from Bismarck, is also expected to introduce an education savings account bill.
Axtman was one of 27 senators who voted in favor of private school vouchers last session, and served on a school choice task force during the midterm session that drew fire for the closed-door meeting.
She told lawmakers in September that she was working on a tiered system that would provide additional funding to K-12 students.
Like Burgum’s proposal, she wants to implement ESAs for public and home-schooled students, with “something around $1,000” for education expenses.
In addition, however, Axtman wants to create a separate tier for private school students, who would receive a larger subsidy — she said her goal was about $6,000 per student — to cover their tuition costs.
“Such an amount would really give all families the opportunity to truly choose the best educational environment for their child,” Axtman said.
She wants this additional funding for public, private and home-schooled students to remain separate from state aid payments to public schools.
Axtman says her plan avoids the pitfall of other education savings accounts by keeping per-student funding separate from school choice funding.
In an email to the Herald, NDCEL leader Copas criticized a “tiered system” proposal, writing that such a program unfairly prioritizes private school families.
“North Dakota provides free public education for all. If families choose private education, the state is not obligated to subsidize that decision,” Copas wrote.
Murphy plans to introduce a bill that would allow the creation of public charter schools.
Public charter schools are publicly funded schools that operate under a contract with a state or school district, but outside the public school system. North Dakota is one of only seven states that currently do not allow public charters.
Murphy wants to create charter schools that cater to students with individualized education plans. Per-pupil funding for these students would cover the schools’ costs.
He is hopeful that public charters can help take the pressure off special education programs in public schools.
“It’s intended to help reduce that burden on public education, but also to give options to children who may not thrive in that public education space and their families,” Murphy said.
Murphy presented his charter school proposal last month at a Grand Forks Public Schools committee meeting along with several lawmakers, including Rep. Mark Sanford, R-Grand Forks.
Sanford said this week that he had not discussed the details of Murphy’s proposal with his fellow House member, but said his support for any school choice legislation would depend in part on whether it could lay out a clear plan for special education students .
He said the lack of details was why he voted against the voucher bill last session.
“The problem in ’23 was…how does this work with students with special needs?” said Sanford, a retired school superintendent. “And there was no such clarification.”
Burgum has also expressed support for a public charter bill that would allocate per-pupil funding to the new schools, saying he was “confident” a public charter bill would be introduced, although it is unclear whether he was referring to Murphy’s bill.
“It would be good to have more competition, even within our small rural districts, within our metros, (because) then you have to respond to the market,” Burgum said.
Huerta said there is little evidence nationwide that competition between charter schools and public schools has led to higher student achievement, but there is some evidence that it has led to an increase in educational services available to families .
However, he said any benefit was highly dependent on the policies of the individual charter school.
“Whether charter schools can provide a greater benefit depends on the quality of the schools,” Huerta said.
