BOULDER, CO (September 10, 2024)—A recent Cato Institute report describes how Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), the newest form of private-school voucher, have the potential to transform education by giving families increased options for tailoring their child’s education, especially with the guidance of special consultants along the way. A review of that report, however, determines that it fails to provide useful evidence to support its conclusions and its recommendation that the cost of these “choice navigators” should be included as an eligible expense.

In her review of Helping Families Navigate the Changing Education Landscape, Huriya Jabbar of the University of Southern California agrees with the report’s assertion that the school choice environment is becoming increasingly complex, particularly with the advent and rapid growth of ESAs. She also does not contest the likelihood that families, particularly those from historically marginalized groups, may benefit from additional guidance, a documented challenge stemming from differential access to information and resources needed to successfully access and enroll in educational programs.

However, Professor Jabbar’s review explains the report’s lack of research and evidence, aside from a few handpicked testimonials, to support its claims about choice navigators as helpful in addressing these challenges. Accordingly, the report asks readers to simply accept the purported benefits of these consultants or choice navigators for families. Given the lack of new evidence or support from prior literature, the report’s conclusions are not valid or useful to policymakers.

Find the review, by Huriya Jabbar, at:
https://nepc.colorado.edu/review/navigators

Find Helping Families Navigate the Changing Education Landscape, written by Colleen Hroncich and Jamie Buckland and published by the Cato Institute, at: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/helping-families-navigate-changing-education-landscape