PRESS RELEASE: Heartland Institute Experts React to Introduction of Child Safety Account Legislation for Washington D.C. Schools

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (May 8, 2019) – On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced legislation (H.R. 2538) to create Child Safety Accounts (CSAs) in the public schools of Washington, DC, the only school district under Congressional authority.

CSAs, a reform pioneered by The Heartland Institute, would allow parents to immediately pull their child out of a dangerous school. The tax-free accounts could be used to pay for tuition, fees, and other education-related expenses at public schools, private schools, and even for homeschooling.

The following statements from education policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Media Specialist Billy Aouste at [email protected] and 312/377-4000.


“It is long overdue that parents in one of the most dangerous school districts in America are provided a safe education choice, and Child Safety Accounts can make that possible. I congratulate Congressman Banks for his decision to stand up for these victimized students and their families.”

Tim Huelskamp, Ph.D.
President
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“Child Safety Accounts would offer District parents a near-instantaneous solution to school safety problems by empowering them with the ability to quickly and easily move their child to the school they determine to be the best and safest fit. The enacting of this program would help allow more D.C. families, no matter their income level, much greater access to the schools best-suited for their children and their unique safety and educational needs.”

Tim Benson
Co-author, Protecting Students with Child Safety Accounts
Policy Analyst
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“Under the current federal Unsafe School Choice Option it’s virtually impossible for a public school to be designated unsafe. It takes years before a school can even be considered unsafe, and states’ definitions are so narrow that fewer than 50 out of nearly 100,000 public schools nationwide are labeled persistently dangerous each year. The Child Safety Accounts Act offers hope to DC families by putting parents—not bureaucrats—back in charge of their children’s safety. The Act empowers parents to choose another education option if they believe their child’s current school is unsafe. Students should not have to wait years at a time or become victims of violent crime before their parents are allowed to transfer them to safer schools.”

Vicki Alger
Co-author, Protecting Students with Child Safety Accounts
Research Fellow
Independent Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“One of the top reasons parents choose a school for their child is safety. Child Safety Accounts would provide parents and students faster and greater access to a safe learning environment. No child should be forced to remain in an unsafe school. Parents should not have to worry about whether their child will come home safely each day after school.”

Lennie Jarratt
State Government Relations Manager, Education
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


The Heartland Institute is a 35-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.