Multiple Choice: How ESAs Are Expanding School Choice with Keith Jacobs | GSVtv Podcast

Summary

ASU+GSV Summit Sessions
Episode: Multiple Choice: How ESAs Are Expanding School Choice with Keith Jacobs
Date: July 16, 2026

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Overview

This episode, recorded live at the ASU+GSV Summit, features Elektra Frelinghuysen in conversation with Keith Jacobs, Director of Provider Development at Step Up For Students. The discussion delves into the role and impact of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in expanding school choice, especially in Florida. Keith shares insights on Florida’s unique model, the collaborative ecosystem enabling ESAs, and predictions for the evolution of educational choice in the coming years.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Are ESAs and How Do They Support Families?

[00:59] Keith Jacobs:

• ESAs are government-funded accounts for students, providing a set amount of money for flexible educational purchases.
• In Florida, funds can be used for:
  • Private school tuition
  • Curriculum and educational products
  • Therapy services
  • Most recently, a la carte public school and charter school courses and extracurricular opportunities
• This system allows families to pay for only the services or classes they need rather than enrolling full-time.

“A public school district can essentially market the a la carte learning…a physics class, a STEM class, some kind of club or opportunity…they can pay for that through their education savings account.”
— Keith Jacobs [01:32]

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Keith Jacob’s Role and Florida’s Approach

[01:57] Keith Jacobs:

• Background as a public school teacher and principal.
• Collaborates with public and charter school districts to maximize student experience and choice.
• Emphasizes flexibility; families often want public schools’ benefits without full-time enrollment.
• Works actively with superintendents and school leaders to implement customizable options.
• As of the episode, 75% of Florida’s school districts (50 out of 67) are onboard with offering ESA-backed services.

“We have approximately 75% of school districts in Florida who are willing to offer these services to kids.”
— Keith Jacobs [02:51]

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Florida’s Unique ESA Model & Lessons for Other States

[03:23] Keith Jacobs:

• Florida prioritizes empowering families at the center of educational decision-making.
• The state offers vast options: charter, homeschool, private, and public schooling.
• Step Up For Students serves over 500,000 kids with more than $4 billion in ESA funding per year.
• Key advice for other states:
  • Advocacy with lawmakers is crucial.
  • Focus on family needs, mainly funding for genuine choice.
• ESAs address cost barriers, making high-quality options accessible to all families.

“What we would say to other states is it’s about keeping the students and the families first.”
— Keith Jacobs [03:52]

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The ESA Ecosystem: Players and Partnerships

[05:08] Keith Jacobs:

• Families are at the core.
• Other stakeholders:
  • Lawmakers supporting educational choice
  • Superintendents and charter leaders
  • Private and charter schools
  • Third-party providers and advocacy organizations
• Partnerships develop organically—working with districts to understand and meet their needs, not just for full-time students.
• Expansion of options is driven by dialogue among all ecosystem members.

“It’s school leaders, it’s families, it’s scholarship organizations like Step Up For Students, it’s lawmakers, it’s advocates…”
— Keith Jacobs [05:44]

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The Future of School Choice (Next 5–10 Years)

[06:52] Keith Jacobs:

• Predicts a shift from funding schools based on zip codes to funding families directly.
• Envisions a landscape where:
  • Families customize learning pathways (homeschooling plus public/charter/private courses).
  • The concept of “public education” comes to mean educational funding for the public good, regardless of delivery model.
  • Parents, not government agencies, become the primary decision-makers.

“In the next five or 10 years, I see a greater shift where the parents are the primary decision makers, not government funded agencies.”
— Keith Jacobs [07:47]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Florida is the home of education choice. Over 53% of our families exercise some form of education choice.”
  — Keith Jacobs [02:20]

• “It’s about ensuring that that family has the resources and the knowledge to make the most informed decision.”
  — Keith Jacobs [04:21]

• “Public education is funding for the greater good.”
  — Keith Jacobs [06:58]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:59] — Explanation of ESAs and unbundled educational services
• [01:57] — Keith’s role in building partnerships with public schools
• [03:23] — Florida’s ESA model and guidance to other states
• [05:08] — Stakeholders and organic partnerships in ESAs
• [06:52] — Future outlook for school choice and ESA-driven education

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Tone & Takeaway

The conversation is optimistic and future-focused, reflecting a passion for family empowerment and educational choice. Keith Jacobs emphasizes flexibility, accessibility, and the power of personalized learning. The episode serves as a primer for education leaders and policymakers seeking to understand and potentially replicate Florida’s model for strengthening school choice through ESAs.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Hi everyone, I'm Elektra Frelinghuysen from gsv and I'm joined by Keith Jacobs. Keith Jacobs is the director of Provider Development at Step up for Students, where he leads statewide efforts to expand high quality educational options for families. His work focuses on designing and scaling public school partnerships that allow school districts and charter schools to, to offer a la carte courses and services while receiving revenue through eligible Education Savings Accounts, which are essays positioning public education at the forefront of personalization, flexibility and access in Florida. So I'm so excited to have you here. I wanted to start out with a question just to kind of like frame what we're talking about. So can you tell us what are ESAs and how do they support families looking for unbundled education services?

[B]

Well, thank you so much, first of all, for having me. ESA stands for Education Savings Accounts. And they are government funded accounts where students will have a pot of money sent to their account and they're able to use that to purchase flexible options. So in Florida, they're able to use it for private school purchases, they're able to go into the marketplace and purchase products, support services for curriculum, therapy services. But most recently, they're able to purchase unbundled services through public school districts and charter public schools. So a public school district can essentially market the a la carte learning. So they can offer a physics class, a STEM class, some kind of club or opportunity for a student, and the student can take that course and then they can pay for that through their education savings account.

[A]

Awesome. It's really exciting to learn about. Um, and can you tell us about your role in enabling that in, in public school?

[B]

Right. So, you know, my role has evolved so much. So I'm a former public school teacher, public school principal. And so what my role is is to work with public school districts and public charter schools and partner with them and seeing how we can maximize the student experience in Florida. Florida is the home of education choice. Over 53% of our families exercise some form of education choice. And what families have said is that they do love public school, they love public school districts and what they offer, but they don't want to be there full time. One thing that they've learned over the last few years is that more flexibility in education will greatly benefit their individual, their child. So what I do is I work with superintendents, assistant superintendents in Florida and getting them to offer up and usher in this new model, this new customization education by offering courses to the kids and not just a whole package where they'd have to be there the entire day. So it's a, it's a, it's an ongoing partnership. Right now, out of the 67 school districts in Florida, 50 of them have agreed to partner. So we have approximately 75% of school districts in Florida who are willing to offer these services to kids. So that's what I, that's what I do. I'm full time.

[A]

Wow. That's a huge amount. And you mentioned Florida and having kind of a unique model in Florida. How is Florida's model, how does it work? Why is it unique? And what can other states learn from how you all are doing it?

[B]

Well, with Florida, it's a focus on the empowering family. Education choice is at the forefront of everything that we do in Florida. We have an expansive charter school programs, we have homeschool programs, but even the organization where I'm at, Step up for Students, we service over 500,000 students.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

You're talking about over $4 billion in education saving. So we're leading the nation as far as flexible, flexible options for families. And so what we would say to other states is it's about keeping the students and the families first. It's, it's, it's about making sure that they are empowered through having the, the right, the right amount of revenue to be able to support their educational needs. So whether they're a elementary age kid, middle school, high school, whether they decide they want to do private, charter, traditional, public school, homeschool, it's about ensuring that that family has the resources and the knowledge to make the most informed decision. So for other states, you know, it starts with advocating to your lawmakers about the need for educational choice options and then really understanding what families need, which is usually funding to be able to exercise those options. Because in Florida, you have families who can't afford to go to a private school, who can't afford to purchase public school courses out of pocket. So education savings accounts are what help them to be able to do that.

[A]

Got it. And you mentioned that you work with superintendents and assistant superintendents, who are some of the other players in this ecosystem, like, and you know, families are obviously important. So what role do families play? How do they hear about these options? Are districts reaching out proactively to you? Are charters reaching out?

[B]

Well, yeah, it's a great question. So it's, it's, it. There are multiple players, but at the heart of it, it is the families. They're, they're the primary focus of all of this. But you have lawmakers in the state of Florida, we have lawmakers who overwhelmingly support education choice expansion. In addition to superintendents, you have charter school leaders as well, who you are involved in this. And then it's, it's, there are other providers who are offering these services and basically it's, it's, it's. Not to mention, I cannot forget our schools, the private schools and charter schools as well. So I wouldn't say that districts are proactively, it's about forming those partnerships more organically. So we set out to meet with, meet districts where they are and get a better understanding of what their needs are and how they can better support all of their students, not just their full time and old students. So that's primarily what that, what that ecosystem looks like. It's, it's, it's, it's school leaders, it's, it's families, it's scholarship organizations like Step up for Students, it's lawmakers, it's advocates advocating for educational choice options. And that's what really led to this mass expansion of public school, excuse me, ESA options in the state of Florida.

[A]

Awesome. I'm also a former public school teacher, so it's exciting to hear about how that's evolving. My last question for you is kind of big picture. In the future, what do you think the next five to 10 years will look like in this space? And do you think that other states will sort of use the Florida option and make it their own?

[B]

That is a great question. So in five to 10 years, we're on that road. And ideally, when you're talking about ushering that next phase of public education, we have to all understand that public education is funding for the greater good. So it doesn't matter if it's a traditional public school, charter, public school, home school, private schools, as long as the money is being funded for the greater good, the public, then it's a form of public education. So what I see in the next five to 10 years is we're moving away from government systems that are automatically receiving money based on a student's zip code and their attendance area schools to now funding families where families can make that, that choice for their, that's in the best interest of their students. So an a la carte menu. So if I, if I'm a parent of a child that I decide to homeschool, I can take two hours on a, in a virtual lab, I can take a class or two at a public school or a public charter school, I can go to a public private school for a period or two, but I have the funding to be able to do that. So in the next five or 10 years, I see a greater shift where the parents are the primary decision makers, not government funded agencies.

[A]

Right. Sounds like flexibility is a major theme in a lot of that. Yes, it is. Well, thank you so much for being here. It was great to talk to you and appreciate all your insights.

[B]

And thank you so much for having me.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you.