AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Education Freedom today released a study by Vice President of Research Bill Peacock examining the economic inefficiency of Texas’ public education system. It highlights the harm that the system’s reliance on third-party payers does to educational quality, costs, and consumers.

“Nowhere is the inefficiency of public schools more apparent than when it comes to third-party payers,” said Peacock. “Education savings accounts can reduce this inefficiency and also provide Texas school children a higher quality education and significantly increased economic opportunity.”

A similar example, Health Savings Accounts, has been the most effective reform for dealing with the third-party payer problem in health care. Likewise, the solution to the third-party payer problem in education may well be Education Savings Accounts. Parents could tailor educational services to the unique needs of their child by selecting from one or more of a variety of services such as public schools, private schools, online learning, tutoring, curricula, textbooks, etc. Parents could even save unused funds for college.

“The lack of choice in public education wasn’t built into the Texas system as originally designed,” said Kent Grusendorf, director of the Center for Education Freedom. “Education Saving Accounts would return choice to consumers—parents—by putting them in charge of the education of their children.”

 Bill Peacock is vice president of research and director of the Center for Economic Freedom at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. 

The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.

Find us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter