Bright Today Scholarship Legislation to be Heard Wednesday in RI Senate

Empower parents with greater choices when it comes to determining the best educational path for their children will be debated Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Education in Room 313 of the State House. ."No child should have to attend an under-performing school just because of their zip code or be forced to wait for vague promises of tomorrow's reforms," said Senator Marc Cote (D, Woonsocket), lead sponsor of the bill. "In order to have a bright future, every child deserves a great education of their family's choice - today." 

At the 4:30 pm hearing for S0607, which would provide 'Bright Today' scholarships for private educations, and which would allow open enrollment within public schools, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity will provide testimony and will distribute areport-booklet, which highlights the key findings of multiple publications by the Center. ."In the five months since the launch of this school choice campaign, there has not been one credible argument made against this WIN-WIN-WIN policy solution," said Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center. "The booklet, The Way of the Future, shows how this major educational reform can provide immediate relief for thousands of under-served students, without costing taxpayers a single new dime and without adversely impacting public schools.

The booklet lays out a full description and narrative on the benefits of the Bright Today Scholarship program. Highlights include: Low value by government-run schools. Public schools in Rhode Island yield one of the lowest taxpayer values in New England and across the nation, failing far too many students.Bright Today Scholarships are a form of Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) where, just this week, Tennessee became the fourth state to officially adopt the innovative scholarship program. . The bi-partisan House bill (H5790), also with a Democrat lead sponsor, is expected to be heard in the House Finance Committee in the coming weeks.