State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) is more optimistic than ever about the prospects of passing a decent school choice bill in the next legislative session because he has the support of Gov. Kay Ivey.

The governor spoke at a rally in Montgomery to promote Alabama School Choice Week. In her speech, she said any proposed school choice legislation in the state should include Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).

“My top priorities in this coming Congress are: [an] My education savings account bill is over the finish line,” she said. “This is important legislation that will empower Alabama students and parents, and I look forward to signing this landmark bill and giving parents more rights in their children’s education.” ”

Yarbrough responded to Ivey's comments during a recent appearance on WVNN's “Yaffee Program.”

“After everything that happened last session and helping to champion and lead that cause in the House, it was very encouraging to hear the validity of that concept,” Yarbrough said. “Because at the end of the day, it's about vindicating the parents, and if you're going to gamble, you're going to bet on the parents. Let's empower parents to take ownership of their children's education. It's the center of ESA. So it was very encouraging.”

Yarbrough has not yet submitted a detailed proposal, but he outlined some of the things he would like to see included in the bill.

“If we're going to lead the nation and be the most school choice-friendly state in the nation, as the governor has said, we better make it available to everyone and set responsible caps that can be raised. . ” He said. “So whether it's $400 million or whatever, our parents deserve more than that. But even if there's a worst-case scenario and you phase it in over, say, three years, If maximum participation, then what is the need to raise the funding cap, and what should be driving that cap increase is not an expansion of the ETF budget, but rather demand and participation, rather than government growth. It’s an increase.”

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The state lawmaker said he fully expects some pushback from the Alabama Education Association (AEA).

“The money is there to serve the purpose of educating our children,” he argued. “That money is not there to support teachers' unions. It's not there to empower people other than the people in the state who are primarily responsible for the education of our children. Government is not responsible. It's not the main party responsible for the government, it's not the main party funding the government. It comes from us. We have the primary responsibility for the education of our children. It’s straight-up Marxism.”

Mr. Yarbrough believes this bill will lead to the passage of appropriate legislation to expand educational opportunities in Alabama.

“Throughout this process, I believe we can come up with a good bill that is first and foremost pro-school choice and pro-parents, not pro-government growth or pro-government tax increases,” he concluded.

Yaffee is a contributor to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee