It’s great for Nevada parentsWhy does Kentucky resist such great ideas?

A new article from the Friedman Foundation says Nevada is moving to the forefront of school-choice states with two pieces of legislation that set school choice in the Silver State at a whole new level.

The most recent and far-reaching bill creates some really amazing Education Savings Accounts (ESA), which will allow parents to have a lot more control over the direction of their child’s education by having a say on how the dollars the state has allotted for their child are actually spent.

The second bill creates a new program where business and industry can take tax deductions for contributions they make to independent scholarship-granting organizations that then will distribute the money to low and middle income students to attend the school of their choice.

These bills and still more education legislation hurls Nevada into the forefront of education-reform activity. The Nevada action absolutely eclipses anything going on in Kentucky.

Under the ESA plan, state money will be distributed by the Nevada treasurer to each child’s specific ESA account on a quarterly basis. Students with disabilities or in poverty will get the full per-pupil amount of state support, currently $5,700. Other students will receive 90 percent of the full amount. If a child elects to take some classes in a public school, an appropriate amount will be deducted from the deposits.

Friedman says students can use the ESA money in a wide variety of ways such as to cover: 

• Tuition and fees at an approved private school

• Textbooks required for a student at an approved private school

• Tutoring or other services provided by a tutor or tutoring facility that is a participating entity

• Tuition and fees for a distance learning program

• Fees for any national norm-referenced achievement examination, advanced placement or similar examination or standardized examination required for admission to college or university

• Fees for any special instruction or special services if the child is a pupil with a disability

• Fees and tuition for a college or university in Nevada if that student utilizes those expenses for dual credit

• Textbooks for a college or university in Nevada, also if that student utilizes those expenses for dual credit

• Transportation to school up to $750

• Purchases of curriculum or any supplemental materials

• Management fees

 The bill includes a number of safeguards for this public money. Check the details in the Friedman article.

Nevada also passed tax credit scholarship program legislation for its low-to-middle income families. which allows businesses to receive tax credits for donations made to Scholarship Granting Organizations that then will distribute scholarship dollars to needy students. A maximum limit of $7,775 for an individual scholarship has been initially set, with provisions for automatic increases as the cost-of-living increases. No formally collected state tax money is involved with this program.

As the Friedman Foundation explains:

“When a business wishes to make a donation to an eligible scholarship granting organization (SGO), the organization will contact the Department of Taxation for approval to receive the tax credit. The SGO will then accept the donation and provide documentation to the donor to allow for the credit to be received against the Modified Business Tax. The amount of the credit will be 100 percent of the donor’s contribution. The cap on total tax credits will be set at $5 million with a 110 percent escalator for each subsequent year.”

These bills go a long way toward rectifying one of the most frequent complaints about traditional public education systems. That complaint: traditional public systems mostly offer only a one-size-must-fit-all education program. This rigid approach serves students who are not “average” very poorly, leaving both advanced kids and those with learning challenges poorly supported.

Now, Nevada parents are empowered to seek better answers for the students they know best of all -- their own children. It will be interesting to see what happens as Nevada parents get up to speed on their options and start to seek out better choices for their kids.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal points to still more education legislation from the Silver State. Reading through this, it looks like Nevada could soon eclipse any claims from Kentucky about being a major leader in education.

We’d be smart to pay attention and get similar legislation under way in the Bluegrass State, too.