We won’t rest this year until the entire South region is one giant school choice zone. Talk about a competitive advantage over other states!

We’re getting there. Two weeks ago Alabama enacted its first-ever education freedom bill. Georgia has passed a “foot in the door” bill that expands school choice for families in failing districts. In Texas, six incumbent Republicans opposed to school choice were defeated outright in recent primaries, and four more are in tough runoff elections.

This week House members in Baton Rouge introduced a bill to expand school choice by creating The Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) Scholarship Program, which would fund private school scholarships for special education and lower-income students (below 250 percent of the federal poverty level) and – if funds are available – smaller scholarships for all students.

Democratic governor John Bel Edwards had squashed this bill for the past two terms, but he’s out now and Governor Jeff Landry — a Republican — tells us that he’s fully on board.

None of these bills are radical expansions for ALL families, but they are setting a precedent that education dollars should follow the kids.