As summer draws to a close and millions of students begin packing their backpacks to return to the classroom, Texas is crossing a historic threshold. For the first time, families can choose the educational path that is best for their children. Thanks to the successful rollout of Texas Education Freedom Accounts, the educational landscape in the Lone Star State has fundamentally shifted. So too has the opportunity for other states to emulate the success that Texas has experienced.
I’ve dedicated my career trying to turn the promise of school choice into reality. First as a teacher, then as an attorney fighting for the education freedom rights of parents and their children. Today I lead Odyssey, the nation’s leading technology platform that partners with government agencies and scholarship granting organizations to expand access to high-quality educational opportunities for families.
Bringing new educational choices to parents in a state as large and varied as Texas – and in less than a year after the legislature approved the program – was no small undertaking. When the program’s portal first opened, an overwhelming 274,000 applications poured in. Meeting that demand was a challenge we welcomed.
Odyssey was proud to have been selected, after a competitive procurement, to partner with the State of Texas and the Comptroller of Public Accounts to launch the largest first-year school choice program in the nation's history. In order to meet the moment, we developed a secure, easy-to-use platform that allows families to utilize their funds for tuition, school supplies, and courses, providing a modern experience that feels more like a private marketplace than a typical government program.
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