‘Money should follow the child’: Gov. Landry pushes universal school choice through Louisiana Senate

The Louisiana Senate has passed a universal school choice bill, thanks in part to the support of Gov. Jeff Landry.

SB 313, sponsored by Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, would create the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) Scholarship Program. It passed the Senate Thursday by a 24-15 vote. 

The scholarships are in the form education savings accounts (ESAs) that could be used for tuition, curriculum, tutoring, or a variety of other education-related expenses. 

In April, a House version of the school choice bill had gained momentum, but the effort lost steam in the Senate until Gov. Landry stepped in.  

“The GATOR Scholarship program empowers parents, but some in the State Senate are refusing to give parents control. And that’s wrong,” Landry said in a video. “It’s your money, and it should follow your child.”  

The governor even hosted town halls to garner support for the bill.  

“Your money deserves to follow your child,” he said at a Catholic high school. “Sometimes we forget that tax dollars are not the government’s money.” 

But Landry doesn’t feel this legislative victory is about him.  

“I think it’s a big win for the kids of Louisiana, for parents out there who overwhelmingly, irrespective of party affiliation or economic means, have said in poll after poll that the money should follow the child,” he told local media after the Senate passed SB 313. 

With two versions of LA GATOR Scholarships on the table, the Legislature has to hurry to get one on Landry’s desk before the session ends on June 3.  

If the governor does sign one of the bills, it will make Louisiana the 13th state to pass universal school choice. Two of its Southern neighbors – Alabama and Georgia – already did so earlier this year.