Latest news with #SGOs
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's big bill includes an ‘unprecedented' tax credit for a national school voucher program. Here's how it would work
Part of the massive domestic policy bill currently moving through Congress known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' includes an unprecedented $5 billion national school voucher program. Republicans have long advocated for so-called school choice, but critics have labeled the initiative a tax cut for the wealthy. Sending public dollars to private schools has long been the subject of partisan divide and controversy. It has many powerful advocates, most notably former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who served under Trump during his first term. And it has fierce critics, particularly on the left. But congressional Republicans' proposal, known as the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), goes beyond any previous efforts, not just by creating the first nationwide program but also by creating an unusual federal tax credit for anyone wanting to donate toward the cause. Families making up to 300% of area median income would be able to apply for, and receive, scholarships to use toward private school tuition, homeschooling books or tutoring, for example. The money would be given out by third-party scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) certified by the US Treasury and IRS. Donors would be the ones to reap the tax benefits, though. Anyone across the country – with or without kids – would be able to donate to one of these SGOs as they would to any charity. But unlike donating to a church or food bank, where tax-deductible contributions help lower total taxable income, SGO donations would result in a full tax credit, dollar for dollar, up to the greater of $5,000 or 10% of one's income. For example, $1,000 donated to an SGO would result in $1,000 taken off one's tax bill. Advocates say these incentives would strongly encourage taxpayers to contribute and that the opportunities could change the lives of kids stuck in failing public schools. 'We have what might be a once-in-a-generation opportunity this year to capitalize on what has been a real movement at the state level for school choice by creating a pathway to supercharge school choice in every state in our nation through a school choice tax credit,' wrote Tommy Schultz, CEO of American Federation for Children, in an email to CNN. Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says the program is generous – to say the least. 'A dollar-for-dollar charitable donation tax credit is unprecedented at the federal level,' he told CNN in an email. Furthermore, House Ways and Means committee staff verified to CNN that stocks would be accepted as donations in this proposal. Donors would receive a tax credit for the value of those stocks, without having to pay capital gains taxes that would have been required had the stock been sold instead. 'This is unbelievable,' said Sasha Pudelski, director of advocacy for AASA, The School Superintendents Association. 'It's weaponizing the tax code to code to destroy our public schools.' But Schultz said, 'These concerns are not in good faith unless those raising them have also been calling to overhaul 501c3 giving overall.' On the state level, there are similar existing tax credits for donors contributing to state school voucher programs. An ITEP study showed that for three states providing data, Arizona, Louisiana and Virginia, more than half of all voucher tax credits are flowing to families with annual incomes over $200,000. The House narrowly passed the bill, and it is now in the hands of the Senate, where its future is uncertain. If passed, the ECCA would go into effect after December 31 and would cap annual tax credits to $5 billion, with the option of increasing the cap by 5% each year. The program would sunset at the end of 2029, unless Congress renews it. Families do need more educational choices, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), a nonpartisan research organization affiliated with Arizona State University. Of the various studies on school choice CRPE has done in the last 30 years, Lake said results can be mixed. She said study evidence is weak that vouchers result in better academic achievement for participating students. But Lake said there are more positive outcomes when looking at graduation rates and parent satisfaction – when school choice is done right. Lake described the pillars that make school choice most effective, which don't happen overnight: a supply of high-quality schools, incentives and startup funds for great school proposals, a pipeline to develop great educators, and accountability. 'Folks in the private school world can bristle at the idea of regulation, but in order for families to really take advantage of choice programs, they need to have some kind of information about how the schools are working,' she said. 'And I would argue that if public funds are going to support these schools, there's also a responsibility for some public accountability as well.' Accountability has become crucial, with recent investigations like one in Florida by WESH-TV, showing that 8,400 students had received reimbursements for theme park tickets through the state-funded vouchers. 'Critics are quick to point to examples of isolated waste being caught and addressed but are more hesitant to discuss the massive scope of fraud and waste documented and often unaddressed in the public education system – or the fact that public schools caught up in this type of waste often just keep getting more taxpayer dollars,' Schultz said. As written, the ECCA leaves accountability to the SGOs, who would verify and grant the use of scholarship dollars. SGOs would have to be certified by the US Treasury and IRS and would be subject to independent audit. 'Nothing is ever clean, right?' said Bridgette Garcia, a mother of four children who all graduated from St. Genevieve Parish Schools in the Los Angeles area. 'None of these different tax programs or programs within the government are (on the) up and up. But if somebody can actually benefit,' she said she would love to see that happen for families like hers, where she and her husband worked multiple jobs to afford tuition. Garcia's youngest child just graduated from St. Genevieve this June. She jokes that with tuition payments all done, her family can finally get a new car after driving the same 2007 Mercury and 2005 Torres for about 20 years. She wanted her children to have a Catholic education, 'where it's ok to say I believe in God and pray at the beginning of the day.' She was also concerned about the safety of their local public schools. Next year's tuition for St. Genevieve high school students is $13,475; elementary school tuition will be $7,550, prices Garcia says she couldn't afford if she didn't have scholarships provided by the school. But parents who are invested in their local public schools see this voucher program as a threat. 'It is sort of an abandonment of public schools,' said Maria Clark, whose two daughters are part of Daviess County Public Schools in Kentucky. Clark, who is on the board for the district foundation, said these vouchers would only exacerbate educational disparities, allowing some students to leave the public system while others may not be able to. Many private schools do not have resources to accommodate special needs students or may require certain testing or grades to be able to enroll. Some public school students, including those who are lower income – without transportation, for example - cannot simply switch to a private school if given a voucher. To those who say parents should be granted resources to put their children in better-performing private schools, Clark says, 'My argument is we can make all of those (good) things happen at public schools, and we should, because we already have money in public schools.' She worries that public schools will lose per-pupil funding as kids leave, even as parents like her already donate buckets of classroom tissues and pencils at the start of every school year. 'We have struggled to find bus drivers,' Clark said. 'Last year… we had busses doing two runs, and some of those kids would get to school an hour and a half, two hours late.' But Schultz, the school choice advocate, said that 'funneling more dollars into public schools in America does not equal improvement or make public schools the right fit for every kid.' The proposed ECCA would allow families making as much as 300% of area median income to receive scholarships. For Daviess County, that means a family of four making under $195,969 per year could still be eligible to receive scholarships for private school, using the US Census Bureau's estimates for 2019-2023. For Los Angeles County, a four-person household making under $263,280 would still be eligible. In the wealthiest county in the US, Loudoun County, Virginia, a family of four making under $536,121 could be eligible to receive scholarships for their children. The ECCA does not limit how much an SGO can give a family in scholarships. In some Democratic-leaning states like California, voters have already rejected the idea of voucher programs. If a nationwide program were to exist, it would be the first opportunity for parents in states like California to use vouchers to send children to private schools. The ECCA's donation process also benefits donors. Typically, someone who donates to a food bank or pet rescue would receive no more than 35 cents in tax savings for each dollar donated, according to ITEP. But someone who donates to private voucher groups would receive a full reimbursement for the donation, dollar for dollar. And stock donations could open up a way for wealthy donors to avoid paying capital gains taxes. ITEP estimates the bill would reduce federal tax revenue by $23.2 billion and state income taxes by $459 million over the next 10 years as currently drafted. 'There's a danger that politicians will increasingly pick and choose which kinds of donations get the best tax breaks and if your values don't align with theirs, well then you're out of luck,' ITEP's Davis wrote to CNN. Public school systems may also lose money, depending on how many students leave the district. Dr. Darin Brawley, superintendent of Compton Unified School District, said his district has already seen a 4% annual decline in enrollment as people leave the state, shrinking his budget by about $8 million per year. 'From the initial look at our enrollment trends for next year, we're already significantly behind,' Brawley said. If more students leave, Brawley worries about an 8% decline, which would result in the loss of $21.12 million and therefore layoffs, hiring freezes and bigger class sizes.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump's big bill includes an ‘unprecedented' tax credit for a national school voucher program. Here's how it would work
Part of the massive domestic policy bill currently moving through Congress known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' includes an unprecedented $5 billion national school voucher program. Republicans have long advocated for so-called school choice, but critics have labeled the initiative a tax cut for the wealthy. Sending public dollars to private schools has long been the subject of partisan divide and controversy. It has many powerful advocates, most notably former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who served under Trump during his first term. And it has fierce critics, particularly on the left. But congressional Republicans' proposal, known as the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), goes beyond any previous efforts, not just by creating the first nationwide program but also by creating an unusual federal tax credit for anyone wanting to donate toward the cause. Families making up to 300% of area median income would be able to apply for, and receive, scholarships to use toward private school tuition, homeschooling books or tutoring, for example. The money would be given out by third-party scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) certified by the US Treasury and IRS. Donors would be the ones to reap the tax benefits, though. Anyone across the country – with or without kids – would be able to donate to one of these SGOs as they would to any charity. But unlike donating to a church or food bank, where tax-deductible contributions help lower total taxable income, SGO donations would result in a full tax credit, dollar for dollar, up to the greater of $5,000 or 10% of one's income. For example, $1,000 donated to an SGO would result in $1,000 taken off one's tax bill. Advocates say these incentives would strongly encourage taxpayers to contribute and that the opportunities could change the lives of kids stuck in failing public schools. 'We have what might be a once-in-a-generation opportunity this year to capitalize on what has been a real movement at the state level for school choice by creating a pathway to supercharge school choice in every state in our nation through a school choice tax credit,' wrote Tommy Schultz, CEO of American Federation for Children, in an email to CNN. Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says the program is generous – to say the least. 'A dollar-for-dollar charitable donation tax credit is unprecedented at the federal level,' he told CNN in an email. Furthermore, House Ways and Means committee staff verified to CNN that stocks would be accepted as donations in this proposal. Donors would receive a tax credit for the value of those stocks, without having to pay capital gains taxes that would have been required had the stock been sold instead. 'This is unbelievable,' said Sasha Pudelski, director of advocacy for AASA, The School Superintendents Association. 'It's weaponizing the tax code to code to destroy our public schools.' But Schultz said, 'These concerns are not in good faith unless those raising them have also been calling to overhaul 501c3 giving overall.' On the state level, there are similar existing tax credits for donors contributing to state school voucher programs. An ITEP study showed that for three states providing data, Arizona, Louisiana and Virginia, more than half of all voucher tax credits are flowing to families with annual incomes over $200,000. The House narrowly passed the bill, and it is now in the hands of the Senate, where its future is uncertain. If passed, the ECCA would go into effect after December 31 and would cap annual tax credits to $5 billion, with the option of increasing the cap by 5% each year. The program would sunset at the end of 2029, unless Congress renews it. Families do need more educational choices, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), a nonpartisan research organization affiliated with Arizona State University. Of the various studies on school choice CRPE has done in the last 30 years, Lake said results can be mixed. She said study evidence is weak that vouchers result in better academic achievement for participating students. But Lake said there are more positive outcomes when looking at graduation rates and parent satisfaction – when school choice is done right. Lake described the pillars that make school choice most effective, which don't happen overnight: a supply of high-quality schools, incentives and startup funds for great school proposals, a pipeline to develop great educators, and accountability. 'Folks in the private school world can bristle at the idea of regulation, but in order for families to really take advantage of choice programs, they need to have some kind of information about how the schools are working,' she said. 'And I would argue that if public funds are going to support these schools, there's also a responsibility for some public accountability as well.' Accountability has become crucial, with recent investigations like one in Florida by WESH-TV, showing that 8,400 students had received reimbursements for theme park tickets through the state-funded vouchers. 'Critics are quick to point to examples of isolated waste being caught and addressed but are more hesitant to discuss the massive scope of fraud and waste documented and often unaddressed in the public education system – or the fact that public schools caught up in this type of waste often just keep getting more taxpayer dollars,' Schultz said. As written, the ECCA leaves accountability to the SGOs, who would verify and grant the use of scholarship dollars. SGOs would have to be certified by the US Treasury and IRS and would be subject to independent audit. 'Nothing is ever clean, right?' said Bridgette Garcia, a mother of four children who all graduated from St. Genevieve Parish Schools in the Los Angeles area. 'None of these different tax programs or programs within the government are (on the) up and up. But if somebody can actually benefit,' she said she would love to see that happen for families like hers, where she and her husband worked multiple jobs to afford tuition. Garcia's youngest child just graduated from St. Genevieve this June. She jokes that with tuition payments all done, her family can finally get a new car after driving the same 2007 Mercury and 2005 Torres for about 20 years. She wanted her children to have a Catholic education, 'where it's ok to say I believe in God and pray at the beginning of the day.' She was also concerned about the safety of their local public schools. Next year's tuition for St. Genevieve high school students is $13,475; elementary school tuition will be $7,550, prices Garcia says she couldn't afford if she didn't have scholarships provided by the school. But parents who are invested in their local public schools see this voucher program as a threat. 'It is sort of an abandonment of public schools,' said Maria Clark, whose two daughters are part of Daviess County Public Schools in Kentucky. Clark, who is on the board for the district foundation, said these vouchers would only exacerbate educational disparities, allowing some students to leave the public system while others may not be able to. Many private schools do not have resources to accommodate special needs students or may require certain testing or grades to be able to enroll. Some public school students, including those who are lower income – without transportation, for example - cannot simply switch to a private school if given a voucher. To those who say parents should be granted resources to put their children in better-performing private schools, Clark says, 'My argument is we can make all of those (good) things happen at public schools, and we should, because we already have money in public schools.' She worries that public schools will lose per-pupil funding as kids leave, even as parents like her already donate buckets of classroom tissues and pencils at the start of every school year. 'We have struggled to find bus drivers,' Clark said. 'Last year… we had busses doing two runs, and some of those kids would get to school an hour and a half, two hours late.' But Schultz, the school choice advocate, said that 'funneling more dollars into public schools in America does not equal improvement or make public schools the right fit for every kid.' The proposed ECCA would allow families making as much as 300% of area median income to receive scholarships. For Daviess County, that means a family of four making under $195,969 per year could still be eligible to receive scholarships for private school, using the US Census Bureau's estimates for 2019-2023. For Los Angeles County, a four-person household making under $263,280 would still be eligible. In the wealthiest county in the US, Loudoun County, Virginia, a family of four making under $536,121 could be eligible to receive scholarships for their children. The ECCA does not limit how much an SGO can give a family in scholarships. In some Democratic-leaning states like California, voters have already rejected the idea of voucher programs. If a nationwide program were to exist, it would be the first opportunity for parents in states like California to use vouchers to send children to private schools. The ECCA's donation process also benefits donors. Typically, someone who donates to a food bank or pet rescue would receive no more than 35 cents in tax savings for each dollar donated, according to ITEP. But someone who donates to private voucher groups would receive a full reimbursement for the donation, dollar for dollar. And stock donations could open up a way for wealthy donors to avoid paying capital gains taxes. ITEP estimates the bill would reduce federal tax revenue by $23.2 billion and state income taxes by $459 million over the next 10 years as currently drafted. 'There's a danger that politicians will increasingly pick and choose which kinds of donations get the best tax breaks and if your values don't align with theirs, well then you're out of luck,' ITEP's Davis wrote to CNN. Public school systems may also lose money, depending on how many students leave the district. Dr. Darin Brawley, superintendent of Compton Unified School District, said his district has already seen a 4% annual decline in enrollment as people leave the state, shrinking his budget by about $8 million per year. 'From the initial look at our enrollment trends for next year, we're already significantly behind,' Brawley said. If more students leave, Brawley worries about an 8% decline, which would result in the loss of $21.12 million and therefore layoffs, hiring freezes and bigger class sizes.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump's big bill includes an ‘unprecedented' tax credit for a national school voucher program. Here's how it would work
Part of the massive domestic policy bill currently moving through Congress known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' includes an unprecedented $5 billion national school voucher program. Republicans have long advocated for so-called school choice, but critics have labeled the initiative a tax cut for the wealthy. Sending public dollars to private schools has long been the subject of partisan divide and controversy. It has many powerful advocates, most notably former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who served under Trump during his first term. And it has fierce critics, particularly on the left. But congressional Republicans' proposal, known as the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), goes beyond any previous efforts, not just by creating the first nationwide program but also by creating an unusual federal tax credit for anyone wanting to donate toward the cause. Families making up to 300% of area median income would be able to apply for, and receive, scholarships to use toward private school tuition, homeschooling books or tutoring, for example. The money would be given out by third-party scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) certified by the US Treasury and IRS. Donors would be the ones to reap the tax benefits, though. Anyone across the country – with or without kids – would be able to donate to one of these SGOs as they would to any charity. But unlike donating to a church or food bank, where tax-deductible contributions help lower total taxable income, SGO donations would result in a full tax credit, dollar for dollar, up to the greater of $5,000 or 10% of one's income. For example, $1,000 donated to an SGO would result in $1,000 taken off one's tax bill. Advocates say these incentives would strongly encourage taxpayers to contribute and that the opportunities could change the lives of kids stuck in failing public schools. 'We have what might be a once-in-a-generation opportunity this year to capitalize on what has been a real movement at the state level for school choice by creating a pathway to supercharge school choice in every state in our nation through a school choice tax credit,' wrote Tommy Schultz, CEO of American Federation for Children, in an email to CNN. Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says the program is generous – to say the least. 'A dollar-for-dollar charitable donation tax credit is unprecedented at the federal level,' he told CNN in an email. Furthermore, House Ways and Means committee staff verified to CNN that stocks would be accepted as donations in this proposal. Donors would receive a tax credit for the value of those stocks, without having to pay capital gains taxes that would have been required had the stock been sold instead. 'This is unbelievable,' said Sasha Pudelski, director of advocacy for AASA, The School Superintendents Association. 'It's weaponizing the tax code to code to destroy our public schools.' But Schultz said, 'These concerns are not in good faith unless those raising them have also been calling to overhaul 501c3 giving overall.' On the state level, there are similar existing tax credits for donors contributing to state school voucher programs. An ITEP study showed that for three states providing data, Arizona, Louisiana and Virginia, more than half of all voucher tax credits are flowing to families with annual incomes over $200,000. The House narrowly passed the bill, and it is now in the hands of the Senate, where its future is uncertain. If passed, the ECCA would go into effect after December 31 and would cap annual tax credits to $5 billion, with the option of increasing the cap by 5% each year. The program would sunset at the end of 2029, unless Congress renews it. Families do need more educational choices, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), a nonpartisan research organization affiliated with Arizona State University. Of the various studies on school choice CRPE has done in the last 30 years, Lake said results can be mixed. She said study evidence is weak that vouchers result in better academic achievement for participating students. But Lake said there are more positive outcomes when looking at graduation rates and parent satisfaction – when school choice is done right. Lake described the pillars that make school choice most effective, which don't happen overnight: a supply of high-quality schools, incentives and startup funds for great school proposals, a pipeline to develop great educators, and accountability. 'Folks in the private school world can bristle at the idea of regulation, but in order for families to really take advantage of choice programs, they need to have some kind of information about how the schools are working,' she said. 'And I would argue that if public funds are going to support these schools, there's also a responsibility for some public accountability as well.' Accountability has become crucial, with recent investigations like one in Florida by WESH-TV, showing that 8,400 students had received reimbursements for theme park tickets through the state-funded vouchers. 'Critics are quick to point to examples of isolated waste being caught and addressed but are more hesitant to discuss the massive scope of fraud and waste documented and often unaddressed in the public education system – or the fact that public schools caught up in this type of waste often just keep getting more taxpayer dollars,' Schultz said. As written, the ECCA leaves accountability to the SGOs, who would verify and grant the use of scholarship dollars. SGOs would have to be certified by the US Treasury and IRS and would be subject to independent audit. 'Nothing is ever clean, right?' said Bridgette Garcia, a mother of four children who all graduated from St. Genevieve Parish Schools in the Los Angeles area. 'None of these different tax programs or programs within the government are (on the) up and up. But if somebody can actually benefit,' she said she would love to see that happen for families like hers, where she and her husband worked multiple jobs to afford tuition. Garcia's youngest child just graduated from St. Genevieve this June. She jokes that with tuition payments all done, her family can finally get a new car after driving the same 2007 Mercury and 2005 Torres for about 20 years. She wanted her children to have a Catholic education, 'where it's ok to say I believe in God and pray at the beginning of the day.' She was also concerned about the safety of their local public schools. Next year's tuition for St. Genevieve high school students is $13,475; elementary school tuition will be $7,550, prices Garcia says she couldn't afford if she didn't have scholarships provided by the school. But parents who are invested in their local public schools see this voucher program as a threat. 'It is sort of an abandonment of public schools,' said Maria Clark, whose two daughters are part of Daviess County Public Schools in Kentucky. Clark, who is on the board for the district foundation, said these vouchers would only exacerbate educational disparities, allowing some students to leave the public system while others may not be able to. Many private schools do not have resources to accommodate special needs students or may require certain testing or grades to be able to enroll. Some public school students, including those who are lower income – without transportation, for example - cannot simply switch to a private school if given a voucher. To those who say parents should be granted resources to put their children in better-performing private schools, Clark says, 'My argument is we can make all of those (good) things happen at public schools, and we should, because we already have money in public schools.' She worries that public schools will lose per-pupil funding as kids leave, even as parents like her already donate buckets of classroom tissues and pencils at the start of every school year. 'We have struggled to find bus drivers,' Clark said. 'Last year… we had busses doing two runs, and some of those kids would get to school an hour and a half, two hours late.' But Schultz, the school choice advocate, said that 'funneling more dollars into public schools in America does not equal improvement or make public schools the right fit for every kid.' The proposed ECCA would allow families making as much as 300% of area median income to receive scholarships. For Daviess County, that means a family of four making under $195,969 per year could still be eligible to receive scholarships for private school, using the US Census Bureau's estimates for 2019-2023. For Los Angeles County, a four-person household making under $263,280 would still be eligible. In the wealthiest county in the US, Loudoun County, Virginia, a family of four making under $536,121 could be eligible to receive scholarships for their children. The ECCA does not limit how much an SGO can give a family in scholarships. In some Democratic-leaning states like California, voters have already rejected the idea of voucher programs. If a nationwide program were to exist, it would be the first opportunity for parents in states like California to use vouchers to send children to private schools. The ECCA's donation process also benefits donors. Typically, someone who donates to a food bank or pet rescue would receive no more than 35 cents in tax savings for each dollar donated, according to ITEP. But someone who donates to private voucher groups would receive a full reimbursement for the donation, dollar for dollar. And stock donations could open up a way for wealthy donors to avoid paying capital gains taxes. ITEP estimates the bill would reduce federal tax revenue by $23.2 billion and state income taxes by $459 million over the next 10 years as currently drafted. 'There's a danger that politicians will increasingly pick and choose which kinds of donations get the best tax breaks and if your values don't align with theirs, well then you're out of luck,' ITEP's Davis wrote to CNN. Public school systems may also lose money, depending on how many students leave the district. Dr. Darin Brawley, superintendent of Compton Unified School District, said his district has already seen a 4% annual decline in enrollment as people leave the state, shrinking his budget by about $8 million per year. 'From the initial look at our enrollment trends for next year, we're already significantly behind,' Brawley said. If more students leave, Brawley worries about an 8% decline, which would result in the loss of $21.12 million and therefore layoffs, hiring freezes and bigger class sizes.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
How the federal school voucher plan aims to expand private school access across all 50 US states
Federal school voucher plan aims to expand private school access nationwide. (AI Image) A major push is underway in Congress to establish the first national school voucher program in US history. If enacted, the initiative would direct $20 billion in federal tax credits over four years to support private school scholarships , dramatically expanding access to non-public education options across all 50 states. The plan is being advanced by Republicans through the House Ways and Means Committee as part of a broader reconciliation bill that also includes an extension of President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. Supporters of the measure argue it would empower families, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds, with greater educational choice. Critics, however, say it would undermine public schools and fail to protect vulnerable student populations. Plan would use tax credits to fund private school scholarships At the core of the proposal is a tax incentive structure that encourages private donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). Donors would receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for their contributions, a generous benefit unmatched by most other charitable deductions. 'It's about three times as generous as what you're gonna get from donating to a children's hospital or a veteran's group or any other cause,' said Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, as quoted by NPR. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 日本の建設作業員の給料（2025年）: 一覧を見る 建設作業員 | 検索広告 詳細 Undo Under the plan, SGOs would distribute scholarships to students for a range of education-related expenses, including private school tuition, books, and homeschooling. The bill caps the total tax credits at $5 billion annually from 2026 through 2029. Eligibility for the scholarships is not limited to low-income families. Students from households earning up to 300% of their area's median gross income would qualify. For instance, in a region with a median income of $70,000, families making up to $210,000 could still receive assistance. Supporters frame the plan as expanding educational freedom Proponents of the plan highlight its potential to give families more control over their educational choices. 'We are one step closer to bringing school choice to every state in America,' said Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, as reported by NPR. Senator Bill Cassidy, who helped lead the initiative, emphasized the link between school choice and economic opportunity. 'Expanding President Trump's tax cuts is about preserving the American Dream,' Cassidy said, according to NPR. 'Giving parents the ability to choose the best education for their child makes the dream possible.' Critics warn of risks to public education and student protections Opposition to the plan has come swiftly from public education advocates and disability rights groups. 'Vouchers weaken public education and limit opportunities for students,' said NEA President Becky Pringle, as quoted by NPR. She warned that public schools—serving 90% of US students—stand to lose essential per-pupil funding as more students shift to private options. Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, expressed concern that families of children with disabilities could mistakenly believe their legal protections will carry over to private schools. In reality, she told NPR, 'It is quite possible that families with disabilities will use a voucher under the pretense that their child will have the same rights when in fact they do not.' Mixed results on academic performance from voucher programs Academic outcomes associated with voucher programs remain contested. According to NPR, early programs showed some positive effects on college attendance, but larger, newer efforts have reported troubling trends—including lower achievement in key subjects like math. Josh Cowen, a professor at Michigan State University with over two decades of voucher research, told NPR, 'The bigger and the more recent the voucher system, the worse the results for kids.' This federal proposal revives an initiative previously attempted during Trump's first term but never passed. To become law, it will need to clear a full vote in the House and secure majority support in the Senate. Invest in Their Tomorrow, Today: Equip your child with the essential AI skills for a future brimming with possibilities | Join Now
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Could School Choice Work at the Federal Level?
President Donald Trump's recent executive order indicates that school choice is on the way for military families and students in the Bureau of Indian Education, but there's momentum building in Congress for something even bolder: a federal tax credit scholarship program that would unleash school choice across all 50 states. For those who support education freedom, this might seem like the holy grail of K-12 policy—but there's good reason to be wary of federal involvement in school choice. The Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) proposes tax credits for individuals and businesses that donate to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs)—nonprofits responsible for awarding funding to students. Households with an income not greater than 300 percent of the area median gross income would be eligible to receive funding. The program would initially be capped at $10 billion—enough to give about 2 million students $5,000 each. Families could use these dollars on a variety of educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, and homeschooling curricula. Tax credit scholarships are a fixture at the state level. Twenty-two states have similar policies in place, and scholarships are paid for with private contributions, not public dollars. The ECCA goes to impressive lengths to protect families and SGOs against burdensome regulations, including promising "maximum freedom to provide for the needs of the participants without governmental control" and barring the ability of "any Federal, State, or local government entity…to mandate, direct, or control any aspect of any scholarship granting organization." The potential upside of the bill is huge. Overnight, millions of students could gain access to public school alternatives, dealing a significant blow to the teachers unions' stranglehold over K-12 education. For families in places like California, New York, and Connecticut—blue states with little hope of adopting school choice—the ECCA could provide an immediate lifeline, especially for those who might struggle to afford private options. Families in states with existing school choice programs—like Arkansas, New Hampshire, and West Virginia—would also benefit since funds from the federal program could be combined with dollars from state programs. School choice participants receive less funding than public school students, and extra resources would give families even more options and help cultivate a more robust marketplace of K-12 providers. It's easy to see why school choice advocates are lining up to support the ECCA. But in the long run, inviting the federal government into school choice could prove detrimental. The ECCA would make private providers vulnerable to far-reaching regulations that fundamentally change the K-12 marketplace. Because scholarships aren't funded with public dollars, private schools couldn't be regulated directly under the program. But they could be caught in the crosshairs if federal lawmakers decided to target SGOs, such as by regulating how they operate or establishing requirements for where scholarship dollars can go. Private schools that grow dependent on federal dollars could then be forced to comply with federal dictates around admissions, testing, curricula, and countless other things. Regulations like these would make private schools more like public schools, reducing the benefits of school choice and offering families fewer meaningful options. While similar threats exist for state-level school choice programs, giving the public school lobby a one-stop shop in D.C. would raise the stakes for everyone. Burdensome mandates would no longer be confined to just one state and could easily affect thousands of private providers. Because the most likely path to passing the ECCA is through budget reconciliation, it would be even easier for opponents to uproot the bill's safeguards. For those who want educational freedom, the federal government has a legitimate constitutional role in providing more options to military families, students attending Bureau of Indian Education schools, and those living in D.C. But that's where its involvement in school choice should end. The ECCA, as crafted, provides little cause for concern—but there's virtually no chance it will stay that way for long. The post Could School Choice Work at the Federal Level? appeared first on
