Bill Description: Senate Bill 1017 amends the statute governing the Self-Directed Learners program to allow parents of self-directed learners to request up to 65 percent of public school funding for the reimbursement of educational expenses.

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Does it expand the government's bureaucratic monopoly on education, reduce family and student choice, or finance education based on an institution or system? Conversely, does it reduce government coercion in education, expand education choice, or finance education based on the student rather than the institution?

Senate Bill 1017 allows parents of self-directed learners to request reimbursement for educational expenses of up to 65 percent of public funds from the school district/charter school. These funds will be taken directly from the monies given to the school district/charter school under the existing funding formula. This mechanism expands the educational opportunities of self-directed learners and establishes the principle that education funding ought to follow the child. 

Despite this benefit, there are two primary concerns about the administration of this reimbursement. First, Senate Bill 1017 establishes an arbitrary maximum for reimbursements of 65 percent of public funds received on behalf of the student by the district/charter school. Conceivably, a self-directed learner could spend no time at their designated educational institution and still be counted in attendance for funding purposes. In this scenario, the school district/charter school would receive 35 percent of the student’s funding despite bearing little to no responsibility for their education. The amendment also creates a perverse incentive for school districts/charter schools to deny reimbursements since they would benefit more from keeping 100 percent of the student’s funding. 

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