Feb 6, 2025 House Ed Cmte. hearing on HB 1140 for school choice
Staff reporter
Feb 6, 2025 House Ed Cmte. hearing on HB 1140 for school choice
(The Center Square) – More than 2,600 people signed on to support a school choice bill that received a public hearing Thursday in Olympia.
House Bill 1140, sponsored by Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, would create scholarships via Education Savings Accounts to help low-income and special needs students and families trapped in underperforming schools.
“These ESAs are gaining in popularity across the country with a number of states implementing them or other similar policies to great success,” Couture said in testifying before the House Education Committee, of which he is a member.
In a news release announcing the bill, the 35th Legislative District lawmaker noted that recent polling shows that nearly 75% of Americans support ESAs, while 80% of Washingtonians support the program.
“We’re not funding schools, we’re not funding religious schools, private schools, we’re not funding any schools with ESAs,” he said. “What we’re funding is the students and families. It is a family that gets an ESA with this program, and then they can use their First Amendment rights to take those dollars to wherever they want to go.”
Couture noted recent data indicating Washington students are struggling.
“The recent national report card shows that we have some of the worst scores in Washington state in the last three decades in reading and math and some of the highest spending,” he explained.
Less than one-third of Washington’s fourth graders scored at or above proficient in reading, and less than one-third of eighth graders are at or above proficient in math, according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress assessment, known as “The Nation’s Report Card.”
“These could be used for private school tuition, home school, or even tutoring services, and I believe this is the civil rights issue of our time and that by passing ESAs, we could increase school choice for families in Washington state,” Couture continued.
Under HB 1140, ESAs could either be funded through direct appropriation by the Legislature or with a business and occupation tax credit, which would allow businesses to direct a portion of their B&O tax to ESAs.
More than 1,700 people signed in against HB 1140.
Tyler Muench, a policy and outreach coordinator for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, testified against the bill.
“States that have adopted voucher programs have seen most vouchers being used by wealthy families, whose children are already enrolled in private school,” he told the committee. “With the state facing a budget shortfall and the public schools already underfunded, introducing a voucher system would directly impact our educator’s ability to serve all students.”
Dr. Vicky Murray, director of the Education Center at the Washington Policy Center think tank, testified in support of the bill.
“I recently just moved here from Arizona, home of the nation’s first ESA program,” she said. “Since 1998, there have been 188 scientific analyses of education choice programs such as Education Savings Accounts, and 84% of those studies show positive effects on student achievement, graduation rates, school performance, and fiscal savings.”
She noted that while test scores for students in Washington’s public schools have been falling, the state has the fifth highest per-pupil spending in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
“There’s no good reason children should stay in schools that don’t work for them,” Murray said.
Rep. Rob Chase, R-Liberty Lake, asked Murray if she felt competition in the school system would lead to better outcomes.
“I know for a fact it does,” she replied. “It’s been proven time and time again, and in fact, Phoenix is one of the most well-studied areas because we got rid of assigned public schools back in the 90s. So, for 30 years we’ve had universal public-school choice determined by parents.”
At that point, House Committee Chair Sharon Tomiko-Santos, D-Seattle, cut Murray off, saying she had answered the question and that time was running out.
Olympia School District teacher Kyrian MacMichael testified against the bill.
“I taught at three different charter schools in California,” she said. “One charter I worked for had very high test scores, but students with special needs were excluded from enrollment, and students who were struggling were kicked out of the school. They only kept the best and the brightest and refused service to students who needed the most support.”
Several others in the hearing room who signed in hoping to testify did not get a chance to speak but were told to submit their comments in writing.
After the hearing, Couture spoke with The Center Square.
WA State Rep. Couture (R) Discussing HB 1140 concerning school choice, which got a public hearing Thursday Feb. 6, 2025
“It was unfortunate that not everybody got to testify, but many people did submit written comments, and the pros far outweighed the cons,” he said. “Parents just want to be able to choose for themselves, whether it’s a public school, a private school, or home school option; this would allow the money to follow the student and empower parents and students to choose what education experience best fits their unique needs.”
The bill is not yet scheduled for a vote out of committee. Couture previously told The Center Square he was just happy to get a hearing and was not holding his breath that it would advance.
Staff reporter
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