By james art 
Parents are one step closer to the opportunity to choose private education and receive public money to pay it in Wyoming.
The final version of a universal school selection bill that will give public money to parents to seek private education for their children, accepted by the house with 39-21 votes on Wednesday.
House 199, also known as the “Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act,” offers $ 7,000 per child a year and is applicable to all income classes.
The head of public instructions and parents will decide how their students are evaluated for progress, but they will not be kept in any state or nationally standardized testing. Schools and parents at home school will also have to submit their curriculum in the country and will have to receive certification from the head of public instructions.
Tyler Lindholm, State CEO of Wyoming for Americans for Prosperity, a Libertarian group that has hardly pushed to expand the school choice, celebrates the account, including all income classes
“Although we certainly want to be careful about the people who need attention in the state of Weioming, we also have to accept the fact that all parents and all children should have as much opportunity for education in Wyoming as possible,” said Lindholm said S “This bill recognizes it. That is why we are really excited about its passage. “
Raised fears
The Wyoming Freedom Cuch supported HB 199 and is against almost all the changes that are made in it. Other Republicans and the five domestic Democrats feel different about it.
Reporter McCay Erickson, P-Cafeton, said he was receiving a significant number of calls from people expressing concerns about the bill.
“Make sure you vote for your people in Wyoming, not outside the state, I think it made it explode,” he said.
Reporter Bob Nicholas, R-Meenne, spores about the inclusion of standardized tests, comparing it to the change of oil in the car.
“Why would you fight the concept of the state that has a children’s test?” He questioned. “For me, it’s kind of stunning. This is all our way and there is no way for the next time? “
The sponsor of the bill, reporter Ocean Andrew, R-Lramie, claims that a classic educational curriculum will not be applicable to standardized assessments of public schools.
Nathan Winters, who heads the advocacy group for selection of Wyoming Family Alliance School and is chairman of the Council of the Classical Academy in Cheen, explained to Cowboy State Daily that private schools issue their own assessment tests and do not follow the same time limits as state -owned curriculum Schools that he said would do the Wyoming test for skills and would progress an inconsistent measure.
Reporter Julie Jarvis, R-Casper, disagrees, saying that all these tests do simply to appreciate basic reading, writing, mathematics and science.
Reporter Steve Harshman, R-Casper, has warned that the bill is not constitutional as it provides public well-being of all income classes and deprives the financing of public education.
“I think most of Wyoming people don’t support it,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s not based on income, so it is actually just giving state money. We have never had a welfare program like that in any state of imagination in our country. “
He also said that most of the money exposed through the bill would be in the hands of external corporations.
Winters also noted the passage of the bill.
“Wyoming Family Alliance supports the Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act because of how it allows parents to find the educational solution that best suits their family,” he said. “Many of the arguments brought today by those who opposed the savings account for education were problematic and we are so grateful to all who have been strong for the freedom of education today.”
Changes have been defeated
Reporter Ken Kluston, R-Gillette, unsuccessfully brought an amendment that tries to repay the requirements based on the income that was adopted in the bill in 2024. There are none in this legislation.
The 2024 bill for the first time allowed the election of a school in the Wyoming Act, but was limited to mostly low -income families and included education before K.
Reporter John Merr, R-Gillette, has described the bill as a “big, bold step”, which he believes will impede the change of Cloaston. The chamber votes the proposal.
Kluston also brought a correction defeated at 39-20 votes, which would delay the program start date from 2025 to 2027.
He said legislators may have a conflict of interest by voting in support of the program immediately, which may be beneficial for the members of their families. Kluston said the delay would ease the issue, starting after the current service representative is completed.
Bear does not agree, saying that the argument can also be attached to any decision to finance the public school.
Kluston replied that the universal aspect of the bill gives direct financial benefit to the members who participate in it.
Andrew said less than 100,000 people are likely to be eligible for the program, but Reporter Trey Sherwood, D-Lramie, said as he opened the enrollment earlier this year, of which 8% were for which were 8% Pre-K.
Although the bill brings the cost of choosing a school in Wyoming up to $ 30 million, adding $ 11 million new funding, Harshman noted that it actually redirects an additional $ 44 million from public school A million dollars, a bigger budget than some of the largest school districts of the country.
This stems from the redirection of 47% of the federal mineral remuneration, which is distributed in the program account of the Foundation of the Public School at the $ 200 million distribution border. Harshman said the $ 200 million cap had always been hit every year until the 90s.
“This is (a school choice) will not be there, which competes with other funding programs if we have a decline or something,” he said. “Our (public) schools will be scrapped.”
Lindhold claims that this is not the case and said that public schools will still be fully funded.
He also mentioned how Arizona was forced to rely on increasing sales taxes to support their schools.
“If the plan is to pull out public schools, keep cut and cut, be careful about what you are working on,” Harshman said.
Leo Wolfson can be reached [email protected].