Week in Review: DC says wait. Elijah can’t.

Twenty-three-year-old Elijah Stacy, who suffers from a progressive muscle-wasting disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is going to die, and soon. If there were an experimental treatment that might help, Elijah tells Georgia Public Broadcasting he would try it.  

That’s why Elijah is advocating for the Goldwater Institute’s Right to Try for Individualized Treatments. The nonpartisan reform, now law in 10 states and awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature in Georgia, empowers patients with rare diseases to access innovative, personalized treatments without first begging the federal government for permission. “Everyone’s mutation is unique. It makes a lot of sense that you would need individualized treatment,” Elijah says. 

He adds: “There’s definitely more options now if you live in Georgia than there is if you’re living in a state without this law.” 

Read more here. 

Texas Enacts Universal School Choice 

In a monumental victory for students and their families, universal school choice is coming to Texas, the nation’s second-largest state.   

Texas just passed legislation that empowers families to select the best schooling option for their students through education savings accounts (ESAs), which they can use to pay for a variety of educational expenses. This new legislation propels the Lone Star State to join the school-choice movement that is rapidly spreading around the country. Already, 15 states have adopted universal school-choice programs modeled after the original ESA program created by the Goldwater Institute in Arizona.  

Goldwater will continue to spearhead school choice efforts so that every child in every state has the chance to reach their highest potential.   

Read more here. 

Parents in Charge 

Shouldn’t your child’s school need your permission before releasing their name, e-mail address, or telephone number to a third party for marketing or other purposes? Right now, in Arizona, schools effectively don’t need to check with parents first. That’s backwards.  

But now, Arizona has enacted a new Goldwater Institute law empowering parents to safeguard their children’s private information by requiring affirmative parental consent before a school releases student data.  

For years, Goldwater has spearheaded the nationwide campaign to put parents in control of the key decisions in their children’s education. From Rhode Island and Pennsylvania to Arizona and Virginia, we’re putting parents back in charge—and we’re just getting started.  

Read more here.