These parents might miss school choice revolution because of one politician

[Valin]

Fox News

Many states are going all-in on school choice this year
Corey DeAngelis

Mar. 1 2023

Wyoming’s Republican House Speaker, Albert Sommers, is unilaterally blocking a bill that would empower all families with school choice.

The bill already passed the state’s GOP-controlled Senate and has 33 cosponsors – a majority of the chamber – signed on from the House. Considering more than half of the chamber cosponsored, the proposal clearly has the votes needed to pass the Wyoming House floor.

The Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act would create an education savings account program allowing all families in the state to take their children’s taxpayer-funded education dollars to the education providers of their choosing. State funding would follow the student to an education savings account that their parents could use for any approved education expenses including private school tuition, tutoring, online learning, and instructional materials.

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Speaker Sommers is additionally blocking a parental rights bill that would ban classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity prior to fourth grade.

Rep. Sommers told local reporters that he blocked the parental rights bill because it conflicted with his belief "in local control."

The Speaker said he blocked the Senate’s school choice bill because it was "identical to the one that already failed in [the House] Education Committee."

These both sound like convenient excuses to kill policies that are strongly supported by his own party and constituents.

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