Delaware Online – Ronald R. Russo
“Recently there have been an increasing number of education alternatives proposed to the existing traditional system of Delaware’s public schools. The nonpublic schools are an option that has been around for a long time. One of them actually predates the founding of our country. Two other alternatives, home schooling and charters, are experiencing significant growth. Our state legislature will soon be considering a new alternative for students with special needs, the Education Savings Account, which was initiated by Arizona in 2011. It is a parent-empowerment piece of legislation designed to enable parents of children with special needs to customize their children’s educational experience. The state portion of a child’s education funding is placed in a state-controlled account which the parents can access for qualified education expenses. The district retains the local portion. Qualified expenses include such things as tuition at an approved participating school, textbooks, services from a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider, payment to a licensed or accredited tutor, and, if any funds remain after high school, they could be put toward college tuition.”(more)