Wyoming approves sweeping changes to school choice, awaiting governor's signature

The Wyoming Legislature joined a national trend among conservative-leaning states by approving a school choice bill on Friday that would have been unpassable a few years ago.

The bill would create the Cowboy State's first education saving account program, allowing families to use state dollars to attend a non-public school of their choosing: private, charter, or some types of home-based education.

"The one-size-fits-all situation is not working for everybody. What I find, being a representative, is there's a massive amount of dissatisfaction with the education system," said Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Albany, who sponsored multiple amendments to the bill. "This really opens it up for parents to decide what a good education is for their own children, and to put them in control of that."

The bill offers families in Wyoming financial assistance to cover the costs of non-public education, such as tuition and fees or school supplies. Assistance is set on a sliding scale, from $6,000 per student per year available for families making up to 150% of the federal poverty level to $600 per student per year available for families making between 450 and 500% of the poverty level. By the time the bill passed, 32 separate amendments had been proposed, significantly altering it from its original form.

The bill is not the first attempt at school-choice legislation in Wyoming. Two bills were introduced and killed in the 2023 legislative session, and Governor Mark Gordon vetoed a different charter school bill that passed this year.

The bill happens in the context of the Wyoming Education Association's pending lawsuit against the state, which alleges a lack of sufficient funding, with a trial set for June.

"We have litigation against the State of Wyoming for not fulfilling their constitutional duty to fully fund our public education, and in the meantime, they want to divert millions of dollars to private and parochial schools," Government Relations Director at Wyoming Education Association Tate Mullen said. "So it doesn't send a very resounding and positive message that our legislators back our educators or students in the public education system."

The Wyoming Education Association hopes Gordon will veto the Education Savings Account bill and recent legislation banning gun-free zones in the state.

Rep. Andrew is not worried by allegations of unconstitutionality.

"The people who wrote this bill are the people who have experience with the nuances of this area of law, even up to the Supreme Court. They started by looking at the Wyoming constitution, and trying to figure out what we needed to be careful of," Andrew said.

According to Andrew, national groups EdChoice and the Institute for Justice were involved in crafting the legislation. To Mullen, this is indicative of school choice as a broader, conservative movement.

"There is a national conservative playbook in terms of reshaping policy across the United States. The first part of that playbook has been attacking school boards, attacking the professionalism of educators, and undermining confidence in our K through 12 public education system," Mullen said. "The second step in that is offering a substitute ranging from charter schools to private schools to parochial schools."

The governor has fifteen days to sign, veto, or allow the bill to pass into law without his signature.