Partnership for Educational Choice Moves to Defend Wyoming’s Education Savings Account Program

Chantal Fennell

June 20, 2025
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Press Release: For Immediate Release
June 20, 2025

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Chantal Fennell
[email protected] | 989-251-8388

Partnership for Educational Choice Moves to Defend Wyoming’s Education Savings Account Program

Wyoming parents step in to protect access to school choice program

CHEYENNE — On behalf of Wyoming families, the Partnership for Educational Choice, a joint project of EdChoice and the Institute for Justice, filed a motion to intervene as defendants in the lawsuit brought by the Wyoming Education Association against the state’s expanded Education Savings Account (ESA) program.

The program, enacted in 2024 and expanded in 2025, provides Wyoming families with a flexible savings account which may be used to pay for tuition, tutoring, curriculum, therapies, and other qualified educational expenses. Last week, opponents filed a suit to halt the program’s implementation.

“The ESA program empowers Wyoming families to make the best educational decisions for their children,” said Thomas M. Fisher, Executive Vice President and Director of Litigation at EdChoice Legal Advocates, EdChoice’s litigation center. “We are proud to stand with IJ and the parents who are stepping forward to defend their right to educational freedom.” 
 
The Wyoming Education Savings Account Program was enacted in 2024 and provides participating students with up to $7,000 per year to pay for educational expenses such as tuition and fees, tutoring, curriculum, educational therapies, and other approved costs. The program was expanded in 2025 under the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act and is scheduled to begin awarding funds in the 2025–2026 school year.  
 
The Partnership for Educational Choice is asking the court to allow Wyoming families, who have applied for and intend to use the ESA program, to formally join the case and defend the constitutionality of the program. 
 
Nicolette and Travis Leck live in Cody, Wyoming, with their three children. After seeing their children struggle in the local public school, they enrolled them at a private school with a classical model and stronger academic expectations. There, the boys have benefitted from regular feedback, a more structured learning environment, and focused instruction in music and Latin. The Leck family has applied for the ESA program and is asking the court to let them defend it so their children can continue learning in a setting where they succeed. 
 
Victoria Haight is a former public school teacher and mother of four in Casper. She has also applied for the ESA program to give her children access to an education that reflects her family’s values. As a former public –school teacher, Victoria recognizes that while public schools serve many families well, they cannot meet every child’s needs, as was the case for her own children. Victoria believes the program would finally allow her to choose the learning environment that best supports her children’s academic and personal development. She is seeking to intervene in the lawsuit to protect that opportunity. 

“Educational choice offers the freedom for parents to choose the system that best fits their children’s individual needs,” said Katrin Marquez, attorney at the Institute for Justice. “We look forward to helping defend this program for the benefit of all of Wyoming’s children.” 

Learn more about the case 

To be connected with Thomas Fisher or one of the clients, contact Chantal Fennell at [email protected]. 

EdChoice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Its mission is to advance educational freedom and choice for all as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society. EdChoice is committed to understanding and pursuing a K–12 education ecosystem that empowers every family to choose the learning environment that fits their children’s needs best. Learn more at edchoice.org.

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Chantal Fennell

Vice President of Communications

Chantal is the Vice President of Communications at EdChoice, where she directs the organization’s communications efforts, and manages its brand and public relations.

Prior to joining the EdChoice team, Chantal served as the Director of Policy Advancement at the State Policy Network, where she worked with state-based organizations to advance policy reforms. Before that, Chantal worked as the communications manager at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan, and as the Nevada Policy Research Institute’s communications director.

Prior to beginning her career in the policy advocacy movement, Chantal was a journalist in California, where she received awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for investigative reporting, economic reporting, and features writing. During her time as a reporter, Chantal authored an exposé that resulted in the creation of one of the nation’s first-ever curriculum for high school students with high-functioning autism.

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