OPINION: Kentucky parents deserve education freedom with Amendment 2

Without a doubt, the words that strike the most fear in the hearts of the opponents of Amendment 2 in Kentucky is “school choice.” As a parent of five children in Arizona who has utilized an Empowerment Scholarship Account for over six years, I can tell you that school choice programs are changing lives and my kids are a shining example.

Over seven years ago, my two oldest children struggled to learn to read. We had them evaluated at our local school district and they said everything was “fine.” We disagreed and had a private evaluation done only to discover they both have severe dyslexia. As a homeschooling mom, I was willing to consider public school options, but they didn’t have any solutions for my kids that were dyslexia specific. My kids were six and eight at the time and because of their dyslexia they qualified for the Arizona ESA program. It changed our lives.

Within weeks, we were able to apply, get funding and start a very intense dyslexia remediation program multiple days a week. We suddenly had funding for tutors, therapists, amazing curriculum, books and more. And my family isn’t alone. Over 79,000 kids in Arizona are on the ESA program and their families have educational options for their children like never before. In short, these kids on ESAs are no longer limited to their local school or zip code.

Additionally, contrary to what opponents say, the Arizona Department of Education at the end of the fiscal year announced a surplus in the Arizona K-12 budget. That’s right, the opposition is being completely dishonest with Kentucky families about what has actually happened in Arizona with our ESA program.

Arizona Superintendent Horne said, “Having a surplus of more than $4 million is proof positive that the critics who have claimed the ESA program will bust not only the state’s education budget but the entire budget itself were always wrong. It was always a myth and that myth is utterly demolished.”

Further, there is a blossoming of private and specialty schools opening in Arizona over the past two years since we have passed our universal ESA. My own children attend a hybrid school three days a week that has over 300 students in year two. The cost is just under our ESA award amount, so taxpayers are saving and parents are getting more choices for their kids.

One of the biggest changes I have seen as both an ESA parent and advocate for school choice through my nonprofit, Love Your School, has been the number of teachers who previously had concerns about ESAs, but who now tell me they support them.

ESAs are providing kids who are struggling in a traditional classroom environment with hundreds of other options. This is a win for both public school teachers and families. I recently had the pleasure of working with a mom whose child continued to have behavioral issues in the classroom, even though the child had no official learning disability or diagnosis. Nothing was working when it came to classroom supports and other children were being impacted by behavioral issues. In this situation, the option of a private school was discussed and parents were thankfully able to get an ESA to make that happen quickly. In short, everyone benefitted and most importantly, the child was able to switch to a specialty private school in Arizona that allowed him to learn and thrive.

These stories in Arizona are abundant and they need to be told so Kentucky parents understand how life-changing ESA programs can be for students. We’ve had the ESA program in Arizona for almost 12 years. It’s time for Kentucky’s parents to have the freedom other states have had for years. Kentucky students deserve the opportunity to thrive like ours have for over a decade.

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Jenny Clark is a mom of five and the founder and CEO of Love Your School, a nonprofit she launched to help families navigate their school options. She holds a degree in Business Economics from the University of Arizona and a Master of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is a former Louisville resident and also serves on the Arizona State Board of Education.