The bill that would have established “hope accounts” for Maine students who either are home-schooled or attend a private school was rejected Tuesday morning on the chamber floor in a nearly party-line vote.
These hope accounts were intended to allow parents who do not send their children to public school to use a portion of funds that would otherwise have gone to their local school districts for alternative education-related expenses, such as home-schooling materials or private school tuition.
The Hope and Inclusion Scholarship Program — proposed by a group of Maine Republican lawmakers — is similar to other education savings account (ESA) programs that have already been implemented in seventeen states nationwide.
A YouGov/yes. every kid. foundation. poll published in December showed that ESAs are the second most popular form of school choice nationwide, enjoying 63 percent support among Americans overall and 71 percent among K-12 parents.
Under this bill, parents of children who are home-schooled or attending private school would have been eligible to access 90 percent of the state and local funding that would otherwise go toward their local public school district.
These funds would have been placed in a hope account to be used for a number of qualified expenses as specified in the legislation, including private school tuition, uniforms, tutoring services, home schooling materials, standardized testing fees, “basic educational supplies.”
Funds could also have gone toward enrollment in a program that “lead[s] to an industry-recognized credential that satisfies a workforce need,” as well as be used for enrollment in dual credit or college-level courses.
Spending from these accounts would have been monitored and reviewed by members of the board governing the program to ensure compliance with these restrictions.
Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham), the sponsor of LD 220, spoke in support of her proposal on the chamber floor Tuesday morning immediately before the roll call vote was taken.
According to Rep. Bagshaw, these accounts would help Maine families feel “empowered to build a learning experience” that fits their child’s needs, contrary to the current structure where parents are “forced to fund an education system” that is not meeting their requirements.
“One size does not fit all,” said Bagshaw. “More freedom benefits everyone.”
She went on to argue that “education should bring hope and include every student equally,” highlighting how nationwide, education savings accounts work well for “families who choose to use them,” as they “simply provide more options for those who need them.”
[RELATED: The School Choice Program Augusta Lawmakers are Considering This Year]
Following Bagshaw’s remarks, lawmakers voted along nearly partisan lines in a roll call vote to reject this bill, with almost all Republicans supporting the proposal and all Democrats opposing it.
LD 220 will now be sent to the Senate for concurrence, at which point, if they follow suit, the bill will be completely rejected and placed in the legislative files.
