Teachers’ Unions Suffer Big Defeat in Arizona (VIDEO)

The Arizona Supreme Court announced last week that it will not review a unanimous Court of Appeals’ decision that declared Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program passes constitutional muster. Today’s decision removes any lingering uncertainty about the program’s constitutionality.

Arizona’s ESA Program is a publicly-funded education savings program that gives parents more control over their special needs child’s education than any other private school choice program in the country.  Arizona’s ESA Program differs from traditional publicly-funded scholarship programs by giving parents of special-needs children a full menu of educational options in which to choose to spend the funds.”

Under the ESA Program, participating parents receive quarterly deposits into an “empowerment account” in an amount slightly less than their child’s previous public school would have received to educate their child. Parents can then use those funds for a wide array of educational options, including payment of tuition or fees at a private school, purchasing educational therapies or services from a licensed or accredited provider, hiring an accredited tutor, or even paying for individual classes or extracurricular activities at a public school.

In 2011 (to protect their own interests), the Arizona Education Association and the Arizona School Boards Association filed a lawsuit.  Almost immediately after, the Institute for Justice intervened in the lawsuit and represented a few of the families participating in the ESA program.

Austin Fox (featured in the video above) is one example of the difference this program is making in students’ lives. Now a high school senior, Austin—who has Asperger’s syndrome—was ready to drop out of his public high school in 10th grade. But the opportunity to participate in the ESA program, and to choose a school for himself, convinced Austin to stay in school. Austin’s new-found academic success and high SAT and ACT scores means he is college bound upon graduation. Austin’s mom, Crystal credits the ESA program with “saving Austin’s life.”

Now, all you libertarians out there…how do you feel about this victory?  I’m sure a lot of you would prefer that public money not be used for education…but if it had to be, wouldn’t educational dollars be better spent in a competitive marketplace for education?

Let us know what you think in the comments section!