A Think Twice Review of:

Review of Child Safety Accounts: Protecting Our Children through Parental Freedom

Think Twice - Mar 31, 2020

Publisher/Think Tank - Heartland Institute

Author(s) - Vicki Alger and Timothy Benson

A recent Heartland Institute report argues for Child Safety Account (CSA) programs that would enable parents to access taxpayer dollars by asserting that their child feels unsafe in school. The CSA money could be used by the parents to transfer the child to another school, be it public, private, magnet, charter, or homeschool.

Reviewer(s) - Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos and Gabriella Garriga of Trinity University

While the report's discussion about school bullying and other forms of abuse is timely, it fails to provide a clear set of steps to bring about change, opting instead to simply advocate for this form of taxpayer-funded vouchers. It also does not engage with the large body of research about evidence-based ways to address assaults, bullying and other safety issues. Accordingly, it is of little use to policymakers concerned about either school safety or school choice.