Oklahoma House Speaker Will Not Bring Voucher Bill to the Floor

An Education Savings Account (ESA) voucher program endorsed by the Oklahoma governor and Senate leader will not be heard in the House, Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) said, according to the Associated Press. The Oklahoma Empowerment Act would establish Oklahoma Empowerment Accounts, allowing public school funding to follow students to private schools or home schools.

The proposal was spearheaded by Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat and Governor Kevin Stitt, who endorsed it in his State of the State address as a program that would make Oklahoma a national leader in school choice, according to the AP.

The House Speaker told reporters at a legislative forum that he doesn’t plan on hearing the bill this year, and that “that topic is just not on the radar or the minds of our members as a priority. It’s never been discussed in our caucus retreat as a priority of our members.” McCall called it “a bit of a geographical issue,” referring to the debate over voucher’s effectiveness in rural counties where there is less access to private schools.

Treat called the idea that rural students would not be able to use the vouchers a “false narrative,” the AP reported, adding that “our parents want another choice, and that’s rural, that’s urban and that’s suburban.”

McCall's opposition echoes concerns in rural communities across the country. Public schools constitute far more than academic institutions alone. They are hubs for civic, cultural, and athletic activity defining small-town life. Losing students to schools in other towns through choice programs can accordingly pose an existential threat to community life. Moreover, the feasibility of choice in rural settings is weak. Schools need a significant population to achieve economies of scale.

The Oklahoma Empowerment Act is currently pending in a Senate subcommittee.

- A. Thomas