Amy Jacobson, Prairie Action Executive director

Right now, the North Dakota Legislature is considering a slate of so-called “education savings account” bills. Whatever the poll-tested “school choice” label of the week is, don’t be fooled — they do the same thing in effect: drain public dollars that could support our public schools to subsidize private school tuition. With one bill’s projected cost nearing a quarter of a billion dollars, these schemes shortchange the public schools that partner with parents to serve 93% of school-aged children in our state.

And rural communities? They’ll take the hardest hit. Less than one-third of North Dakota counties even have a private school, but these voucher programs would still rob funding from rural public schools that already face unique and difficult funding challenges. They don’t improve access to education, they just shift scarce resources from rural communities to benefit a few families in our large cities.

Meanwhile, in the same breath, lawmakers rejected a universal school meals bill that would have guaranteed breakfast and lunch to every student, public and private. Feeding kids is not a partisan issue, and it doesn’t deepen a rural-urban resource divide; it’s a basic responsibility. The people of North Dakota gave that directive to the state legislature when over 80% expressed support for Universal School meals in a statewide poll ahead of the legislative session.

And let’s not overlook the impact of this policy on all families, no matter where their child enrolls: universal school meals would have saved families nearly $1,000 per child per year – real money that would have stayed in North Dakota pockets, easing the burden on working families.

Public dollars should serve the public good, not fund private tuition for a select few. So let’s be honest: who are our lawmakers working for? There’s still time to get this right. North Dakota families deserve policies that put all our kids first.