Indy Standard

U.S. Senators Todd Young, Bill Cassidy, and Tim Scott have reintroduced the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), aiming to expand educational opportunities for students. The bill is designed to increase school choice by encouraging charitable donations from businesses and individuals to fund scholarships for students attending independent or religiously affiliated schools.

Senator Young stated, "School choice empowers families and teachers to meet each child’s unique learning needs. Our bill will unlock more opportunities for families to make decisions that will help students succeed." Senator Cassidy added, "Parents want to see their child succeed. Giving them the ability to make decisions over their child’s education puts that child’s needs first."

Senator Scott emphasized the potential impact of the legislation: "When you give parents a choice, you give kids a better chance at achieving their dreams. By empowering families with more education resources and freedom, this bill will unlock opportunities that have been out of reach for students across America who deserve every chance to succeed and a schooling system that fosters their potential."

The ECCA takes a limited government approach by incentivizing donations towards scholarships managed by Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). These organizations are tasked with determining scholarship amounts. Approximately two million students in various educational settings, including homeschoolers, may be eligible for these scholarships. Scholarships can cover tuition, fees, book supplies, and equipment needed for elementary or secondary education.

The bill was introduced with support from several Republican senators including Cynthia Lummis, Steve Daines, John Cornyn, John Thune, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Eric Schmitt, Tim Sheehy, Ted Budd, John Kennedy, Tommy Tuberville, Jim Justice, Jim Risch, John Barrasso, Thom Tillis, and Roger Marshall.

Senator Young has been a consistent advocate for school choice initiatives. He has also introduced resolutions designating periods as "National School Choice Week," including one this year covering January 26 through February 1.