Although Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed a school choice bill into law on Thursday, he cited constitutionality concerns when he vetoed most of the eligibility provisions that would provide taxpayer funds to pay for private, pre-K, and homeschool education expenses.
The Wyoming legislature sent Gordon a bill that would establish education savings accounts (ESAs) based on a tiered system–the more a family makes, the less they would qualify for funds.
The ESAs is a school choice model that enables parents to use public funds to cover a variety of education expenses, including private school tuition, instructional materials, and homeschooling costs.
Citing constitutional concerns, Gordon’s veto of certain line items narrowed the eligibility for the ESA to families with lower incomes, restricting access to ESAs solely to families directly at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.
Families earning below 150% of the federal income poverty level would qualify for the maximum of $6,000. He vetoed part of the bill that would've made eligible families that are classified between 150 to 500% of the poverty level.
"We are incredibly disappointed in Governor Gordon’s changes to House Enrolled Act 53," Americans For Prosperity of Wyoming state director Tyler Lindholm said, reacting to the veto. He added that by removing the tier system, "Thousands of families across the state were just told they aren’t poor enough to have educational freedom even though they can’t afford pursuing educational options on their own."
In a letter explaining his veto, Gordon said that "while the intent to support education and parent choice is commendable, my analysis revealed practical and constitutional complications within the bill’s provisions."
The Wyoming Constitution’s prohibition on state allocation of funds "except for the necessary support for the poor" was highlighted in Gordon’s concerns.
He also said that the bill "poses a risk of allocating funds to sectarian and religious schools," thus it "may potentially violate provisions in our Wyoming Constitution that explicitly prohibit the allocation of public funds to such entities."
The Wyoming legislature earlier this month passed a school choice bill after past failed attempts to make that happen in the Cowboy State.
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The bill comes after two bills were introduced and swatted down during the 2023 legislative session. Gordon vetoed a different charter school bill that passed earlier this year.
"The school choice stampede through rural states and the political success of education freedom supporters in rural districts should put to bed the myth that rural voters don’t want school choice once and for all," American Federation For Children senior fellow Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital.
Rural Republicans, once obstacles to school choice measures due to concerns over harm to struggling public schools in rural areas, have seemed to shift on the policy.
Wyoming’s advancement toward a universal school choice bill is part of a trend of red states passing the measure. Nine states passed universal school choice bills last year and Alabama made the move last week.
The Heritage Foundation’s Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy, and Jason Bedrick, a research fellow, sent Fox News Digital the following statement.
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"The Wyoming legislature should be applauded for passing a robust ESA policy, which would have considerably expanded education freedom. Although it is disappointing that Governor Mark Gordon’s line-item veto excluded most Wyoming families from benefiting from the ESA, he still deserves credit for taking a small but significant step toward education freedom."
"The Cowboy State has joined a growing number of states that are empowering families to choose the learning environments that align with their values and work best for their children. This is an important win for Wyoming families," she continued. "More than one-third of children nationwide are now eligible for a private school choice option. Lawmakers should do more to expand educational opportunities and alternatives to the union-dominated, near-monopoly K-12 district school system."
