National School Choice Week

Floor Speech

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Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Mitchell. I am grateful for this opportunity to highlight National School Choice Week, which will be next week, January 20 through 26.

Like many in Congress, I believe the path to success for our Nation's youth is through quality education. The best way to provide quality is to create competition in the education marketplace.

For decades, students and families had few options when they went to choose education for their children. Today, there is a flourishing education marketplace. Some States have erased school district lines, directly creating choice within their traditional public school systems. Many others have embraced charter schools and duel-enrollment programs, and still others have provided educational savings accounts for parents and allowed voucher programs to assist families with offsetting the cost of private school tuition.

Educational options should meet the variety of unique needs of students. I am glad to see leaders across the country understand those needs and promote policies that provide an abundance of options.

Nearly 30 years ago, my wife and I studied the options available to us as parents as we went to educate our children in Arizona. At that time, there were very few options. I took the required general certification test that allowed us to home educate our oldest children.

As our family and children grew, so did educational choice in Arizona. Our children are each unique individuals with varying talents, abilities, and interests. Homeschooling worked for some of our children, charter schools for others, and, even within the charter schools, different charter schools worked for different children. But each of our children received a quality education that allowed them to flourish and which prepared them for life.

Four of our children have graduated from college, the fifth has attended college, and our youngest is in her freshman year of college. My wife and I are pleased with their successes and are deeply appreciative of Arizona's liberal school choice policies that allow every child an opportunity to thrive and grow in a school that is the best fit for them.

Today, in Arizona, there are more than 550 charter schools, with 186,000 students enrolled in the 2016-2017 school year. That is an increase of 6,000 students, or almost 6 percent over the previous school year, and makes up about 17 percent of all of Arizona's public school students.

But school choice doesn't stop with charter schools in Arizona. We also offer scholarships funded by State tax credits to help make private schools more affordable, as well as education savings accounts that help more than 5,400 students and their families choose the educational option that is best for them.

I firmly believe parents and students should be in the driver's seat when determining which educational path best fits their needs. They can only do this if local, State, and Federal leaders continue to reduce involvement in education decisionmaking.

Again, I thank Representative Mitchell and the leaders here today and those who are working for school choice across this country, those who are fighting for policies that benefit students and their families.

Today's youth will be our future leaders in this great Nation, and even in the world. It is, thusly, imperative that we provide them with the highest quality education to ensure they have the foundation necessary to become the leaders we need.

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