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Dear Jack,

The United States has been at the forefront of human scientific and technological progress. From the advent of powered flight to the age of the iPhone, America has been home to the world’s great innovations. Most of the world’s top universities are American. American ingenuity planted the stars & stripes on the moon, and more recently flew an unmanned drone on Mars.

Yet the United States has a school system that in many parts of the country struggles to teach tenth graders basic math and grammar. Multiple school districts in Mississippi, for example, have been F rated for as long as anyone can remember.

America ought to be able to do better than this.

In order to give every American child, from every background, the chance of a good education, conservatives have long recognized that it is not enough to tinker with a top-down system. (You can read my analysis about this week’s half-baked attempts by the Senate at school funding reform here. ([link removed]) )

What America's education system really needs is parent power. That means handing moms & dads control over their child’s share of education tax dollars. That, coupled with a greater diversity of providers, would – conservatives have long suggested - create a system more responsive to the needs of each child.

Despite campaigning for education freedom for decades, until this year, we conservatives had remarkably little to show for it – either here or across the country. To be sure, Charter Schools are a big step in the right direction, but with a mere eight Charter Schools in the entire state of Mississippi, they have yet to have the impact some had hoped for.

However, things are starting to change. An education revolution is gaining momentum across America – and Betsy DeVos, one of the leaders of this movement, is coming to Jackson to talk about it.

Last year, West Virginia and Arizona each established a system of universal school choice. Every kid in those two states has, in effect, an Education Savings Account into which their share of tax dollars are paid. Their families are then free to spend those tax dollars educating their kid at pretty much any approved provider.

This week the magnificent Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the newly elected Governor of Arkansas, signed legislation that will give every kid in her state the right to spend their education tax dollars in any school, public, private or home-school. At the same time, Gov Huckabee Sanders, has guaranteed a minimum $50,000 salary for public school teachers in her state by 2025.

Education freedom hero Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Jackson

Why can we not do something similar here in Mississippi?

Appointed Education Secretary by President Trump, Mrs. DeVos is one of the most knowledgeable champions for education freedom in America.

Please come and listen to Betsy DeVos talk about education freedom in America. Book your place at lunch with Mrs. DeVos today to ensure your place.
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Have a wonderful weekend!
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Warm regards,
Douglas Carswell
President & CEO

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