North Dakota governor champions educational freedom in speech

North Dakota’s new governor has declared his support for school choice. 

In his State of the State address on Tuesday, freshman governor Kelly Armstrong announced his plan to bring education freedom to the Rough Rider State. 

“Our budget will support Education Savings Accounts – funding set aside for each student to direct toward services or tuition across our public, nonpublic or homeschool settings,” Armstrong declared. “The money follows the student, not the school, ensuring every student has the tools they need to prepare for college, a career or the military.” 

He praised the state’s previous advancement of career and technical education and promised to continue promoting public charter schools.

Armstrong said more charter schools would “create another choice for families when selecting the learning environment they feel is best suited for their child’s needs.”

Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also voiced support of universal school choice before leaving office.

When the Legislature passed a small $10 million school choice plan in 2023, Burgum vetoed it, saying it wasn’t “the comprehensive solution we need.”  

“It falls short of meaningfully enhancing school choice – especially in rural areas far from any existing nonpublic schools – and lacks incentives to expand nontraditional options in K-12 education,” Burgum said at the time. Burgum has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

However, North Dakota – along with over a dozen other states – still lacks a school choice program.

But if Armstrong has his way, that will soon change.

“We can ensure every parent has the freedom and flexibility to choose the right educational plan for their child,” he concluded.

Burgum – who called for universal school choice in an outgoing gubernatorial speech – has suggested a $50 million pilot program of education savings accounts (ESAs).

According to local media, Rep. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, is also working on a tiered ESA proposal that could give private school students $6,000 and public and homeschool students $1,000 for educational expenses.