In the midst of a so-called "blue state family exodus," Todd Gathje, vice president of government relations at The Family Foundation of Virginia, says his organization continues to advocate for education freedom.
"The Institute for Family Studies conducted a study where they evaluated hundreds of thousands of families that were leaving states like California and Massachusetts and Minnesota and New York, and they were moving to states like Idaho or Montana or Florida or South Carolina or North Carolina," Gathje relays.
Since education was one of the top three reasons for those relocations, he says families are clearly desiring more education options. That is why his organization promotes school choice efforts.
The Family Foundation held its "Kids Deserve More Day" at the state capitol one week before the start of National School Choice Week.
"If Virginia really wants to be competitive with other states, this would be a great way to attract more families to the state of Virginia," he suggests.
In addition to pushing for education freedom, the conservative organization is also hoping to keep the sun from setting on the successful Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits Program.
Gathje says the scholarship program provides helpful tuition scholarships for students to leave underperforming or unsafe public schools for a better education environment in the private school of their choice. It currently benefits bout 5,000 students.
A repeal of its 2027 sunset has been introduced in the state legislature.