Week in Review: A Radical Political Agenda – and You’re Paying for It

Educational leaders around the country are disavowing the National School Boards Association’s inflammatory claim that the parents of school children are perpetrating a form of “domestic terrorism,” just for daring to stand up to the rise of politicized curriculum in their kids’ classrooms. But in Arizona, school leaders who wish to distance themselves from the organization and its state affiliate may not be given their freedom without a fight.

A new report from the Goldwater Institute reveals that the Arizona School Boards Association is using taxpayer-funded dues from virtually every district in the state to promote the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the classroom. On top of that, it is holding hostage dissenting school board members by staking out outlandish claims of legal control over the board’s existing policy infrastructure.

Read more about the report from Goldwater Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg.

Facts are Facts: Education Savings Accounts Work

Ten years ago, the Goldwater Institute pioneered Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), and since that time Goldwater has spread ESAs to 10 states across America, helping thousands of students succeed. In an age of fake news, the power of ESAs has proved authentic, empowering parents to customize their child’s education, and families are, in fact, doing exactly that.

Data from North Carolina’s two education savings accounts programs find that a larger share of families are using their child’s account to purchase more than one education product or service than those who are only paying for one item, such as private school tuition. Read more about the success of ESAs in a new article from Jonathan Butcher,  senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute.

Electricity Prices Would Skyrocket under Reconciliation Package

Progressives in the U.S. House of Representatives, along with wind and solar advocates, are eager to pass a major $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that would radically alter the fabric of American life for decades to come. A new report from the Center of the American Experiment shows how devastating the plan would be for Arizonans, saddling them with a hefty new price tag for their electricity.

Tucked inside the House reconciliation package is the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), which is one of the most sweeping energy proposals in American history. The CEPP would cost Arizonans an additional $119 billion through 2052, compared to running the existing electric grid. This would cost electricity customers an additional $1,200 per year, on average, every year through 2052. And that’s just the beginning.

Read more about the true costs of the Clean Electricity Performance Program on In Defense of Liberty.

Webinar: School Choice Options are Changing the Education Game

If you want to learn more about how the Goldwater Institute’s Education Savings Accounts are helping families ensure their children get the education they deserve, here’s your chance! Join us for a webinar on Thursday, October 28, from 10 AM – 11 AM MST featuring Matt Beienburg, the Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute, and Jason Bedrick, Director of Policy for EdChoice. Learn how school choice options are changing the education game for students and families. Click here to RSVP today!