North Dakota passes major school choice bill hours after charter schools become law

A bill to create Education Savings Accounts (ESA) for educational expenses including private school is on its way to the North Dakota governor after the state House passed the bill on Monday.

The House approval (49-43) comes four days after the state Senate passed it (27-20).

The bill, HB1540, now goes to the desk of Gov. Kelly Armstrong, coming hours after the Republican governor signed the state’s first charter school law, reports the North Dakota Monitor.

Corey DeAngelis, a school reform advocate and senior fellow at the American Culture Project, hailed the victory for school choice. 

“This is the way,” DeAngelis declared via X. 

The American Federation for Children (AFC) also celebrated, noting, “This bill empowers North Dakota families to select the best educational options for their children and unlocks private school choice for the first time in the state, and we look forward to North Dakota joining the school choice revolution that is rapidly expanding across the country.” 

If the bill becomes law, AFC calculates the scholarship would be worth more than $4000 for families making less than 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL), more than $2300 for families between 200% and 400% FPL, and more than $1150 for families over 400% of FPL. 

The first year of eligibility for the ESAs will be the 2026-2027 school year, with an estimated cost of $20 million, The Monitor reported. 

“I think we’re establishing quality policies that will last beyond this session,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-Fargo, according to the Bismarck Tribune. “As the policy is successful, we’ll end up seeing that the body will put more money into it. We’ll know how many people want to use it, how successful it is.” 

The main opposition to the bill was the state’s public teachers’ union, ND United, which is associated with the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the country. 

“Private schools don’t have the same obligation, the same constitutional obligation that public schools have,” Nick Archuleta, president of ND United, complained to the Tribune. “We educate every child that walks, runs, rolls or gets carried through a schoolhouse door. That’s our obligation. That’s also our privilege. Private schools don’t have that.” 

But school choice supporters contend that since parents bear primary responsibility for their children’s education, they should have the right to choose the school. 

Provisions in HB 1540 require parents to make sure the students take the state’s annual achievement test, or an equivalent test, and report standardized test scores to the state. 

Parents are also required to report when students graduate. 

To help lessen the impact on public school funding under the new law, participating students would be counted as enrolled at the qualifying public school for purposes of calculating the state’s per pupil funding for that school. 

HB 1540 defines ten categories of expenses for which the ESA funds can be used, including private tuition, books, computers and technology, tutors or study services, testing, textbooks, private curriculum, online courses, college or university textbooks and tuition at a post-secondary school. 

The state’s Department of Public Instruction will be responsible for executing a multimedia marketing program targeting eligible families, especially those below the state’s median household income. 

Gov. Armstrong, who previously served as the state’s at-large congressman, is a supporter of education choice, with some important caveats that could derail HB 1540.  

“Expanding school choice is a win-win for North Dakota families and for our state’s workforce and long-term success,” Armstrong said in a statement about the charter law. “The public charter schools authorized by this bill can drive innovation, improve student outcomes and increase parent satisfaction.”  

But EdChoice noted in its roundup of gubernatorial candidates in fall 2024 that Armstrong “refused support of a voucher program – sharing skepticism that private schools could raise tuition rates.” 

If the governor does not sign the bill, the legislative chambers are unlikely to reach the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.