Parents are one step closer to being able to choose private education, and get public money to pay for it, in Wyoming.
The final version of a universal school choice bill that would give public money for parents to seek private education for their children passed by the House by a 39-21 vote Wednesday.
House Bill 199, also known as the “Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act,” offers $7,000 per child per year and is applicable for all income classes.
The superintendent of public instruction and parents would decide how their students are assessed for progress, but they would not be held to any state or national standardized testing. Schools and homeschool parents would also have to submit their curriculum to the state and would be required to get certification from the superintendent of public instruction.
Tyler Lindholm, Wyoming state director for Americans For Prosperity, a Libertarian group that’s pushed hard for expanding school choice, celebrated the bill now including all income classes
“While we certainly want to look out for the folks that need looking out for in the state of Wyoming, we also need to accept the fact that all parents and all kids should have as much of an opportunity for education in the state of Wyoming as possible,” Lindholm said. “This bill recognizes it. That’s why we’re really excited about its passage.”
Concerns Raised
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus has supported HB 199 and has been averse to almost any changes being made to it. Other Republicans and the five House Democrats feel differently about it.
Rep. McKay Erickson, R-Afton, said he’s been receiving a significant number of calls from people expressing concerns about the bill.
“Make sure you vote for your people in Wyoming, not an out-of-state driven narrative I think this has made this explode,” he said.
Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, argued for including standardized testing, comparing it to changing the oil in one’s car.
“Why would you fight the concept of the state having a test for children?” he questioned. “It’s kind of mind-boggling to me. It’s all our way and no way to the other way?”
The bill sponsor, Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie, argued that a classical educational curriculum would not be applicable to standardized public school assessments.
Nathan Winters, who runs the school choice advocacy group Wyoming Family Alliance and is chairman of the board of the Cheyenne Classical Academy, explained to Cowboy State Daily that private schools issue their own assessment tests and don’t follow the same curriculum timelines as public schools, which he said would make taking of the Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress an inconsistent measure.
Rep. Julie Jarvis, R-Casper, disagreed, saying all these tests do is simply assess basic reading, writing, math and science.
Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, warned that the bill isn’t constitutional because it provides public welfare to all income classes and takes away from public education funding.
“I think most Wyoming people do not support this,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s not based on income so it’s basically just giving away state money. We’ve never had a welfare program like this in any state of the imagination in our state.”
He also said most of the money given out through the bill will end up in the hands of out-of-state corporations.
Winters also celebrated passage of the bill.
“Wyoming Family Alliance supports the Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act because of how it empowers parents to find the education solution that best fits their family,” he said. “Many of the arguments brought today by those who oppose the education savings account were problematic and we are so thankful for all those who stood strong for education freedom today.”
Amendments Defeated
Rep. Ken Clouston, R-Gillette, unsuccessfully brought an amendment attempting to bring back the income-based requirements that were passed in the 2024 bill. There are none in the current legislation.
The 2024 bill for the first time allowed school choice in Wyoming law, but was limited to mostly low-income families and included pre-K education.
Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, described the bill as “a big, bold step,” which he believes Clouston’s amendment would impede. The House voted down the proposal.
Clouston also brought an amendment defeated on a 39-20 vote that would have delayed the start date of the program from 2025 to 2027.
He said lawmakers could have a conflict of interest by voting to support the program immediately that could benefit members of their families. Clouston said the delay would alleviate this issue starting after a representative’s current term in office is over.
Bear disagreed, saying that argument could be applied to any public school funding decision too.
Clouston responded that the universal aspect of the bill gives a direct financial benefit to the members who participate in it.
Andrew said fewer than 100,000 people will probably be eligible for the program, but Rep. Trey Sherwood, D-Laramie, said since it opened enrollment at the beginning of the year about 300 people have applied, of which 8% are for pre-K.
Although the bill brings the cost of school choice in Wyoming to $30 million by adding $11 million in new funding, Harshman noted that it actually redirects an additional $44 million from public schools that he estimated will bring the real cost to $74 million, a larger budget than some of the state’s larger school districts.
This stems from the bill redirecting 47% of the federal mineral royalties that are distributed to the Public School Foundation Program Account under the $200 million distribution cap. Harshman said the $200 million cap has always been hit every year back to the 1990s.
“It’s (school choice) not going to be out there competing with other programs for funding if we have a downturn or anything like that,” he said. “Our (public) schools will be scrapping.”
Lindholm argued this isn’t the case and said public schools will still be fully funded.
He also mentioned how Arizona has been forced to rely on increasing sales taxes to support their schools.
“If the plan is to squeeze public schools, keep chipping away and chipping away, be careful what you work for,” Harshman said.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
