School choice proponents recommend education tax credits as the best possible option for saving our nation’s educational system.
A tax credit gives parents a set amount of money back for tuition paid to a private school, allowing many more students the opportunity to choose between a public or private school.
“Of all the ways to finance education, education tax credits offer the most choice,” according to the Education Tax Credits website.
Tax credits have increasingly gained bi-partisan support, but recently the 9th Circuit Court agreed that the Arizona tuition tax credit scholarships are too heavily weighted toward religious schools. The attorneys will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Tuition tax credits are increasingly preferred over vouchers by politicians and the public. This is because the money does not go directly from the state to the schools, which preserves the autonomy of independent schools and extends choice and accountability to taxpayers as well as parents.
Tuition tax credits have also saved taxpayers millions of dollars in the states that have implemented small programs, according to Adam B. Schaeffer of the Center for Educational Freedom. This is because the tax credit is usually structured to be significantly less than the cost of public school education.
“Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa already provide families with tax credits to offset the cost of independent schooling for their own kids,” according to Schaeffer. Six other states provide tax credits for donations to nonprofit scholarship organizations that subsidize tuition for lower-income families.
Savings have been $32 million in Milwaukee, $39 million in Florida, and more than $30 million in Pennsylvania. In Florida, this calculates to savings of almost $1.50 for every dollar invested in education through tax credits.
For more information, see:
Tax Credits, Not Vouchers, Are Keeping School Choice a Viable Option
College Students Can Get $2500 Tax Credit Under Stimulus Plan
Education Tax Credits Offer Most Choice
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Comments
This is such a simple and effective idea. It improves competition and therefore improves the public schools. It would save taxpayers billions. The only ones who will fight it are the powerful teachers' unions, because people will flock to those schools that don't have all those politics and schools that focus on children and not the adults.
People who propose programs like this are clueless about how they will affect the public schools. Our public schools are already losing enrollment and funding, and allowing kids to flock over to the better private schools will mark the end of competent public schools being available in every neighborhood.
In Sweden vouchers were introduced during the 100 year reign of the socialist party to assure all families equal access to school options.
As a school choice proponent I don't know that there is a perfect solution yet, but vouchers and tax credits are two potential ideas.
Here is the flaw, as I see it:
Vouchers will likely not cover the entire amount of tuition for many private schools, leaving a cost balance many low-income families still cannot afford.
Tax credit is great for those of us who can afford to part from the money up front, but that would also exclude low-income families who could not write the check to begin with.
So although I would happily support both vouchers and taxcredits, because that will open the door for many, we need to continue working toward a system which is for all.
There really needs to be more options for children who learn differently because the stats don't lie. Generally the kids who come out of public schools OK are the ones who have parents who pay for private tutors. Parents should not have to pay twice and children should be able to be educated the right way the first time. Kudos to any school who can do the job right.
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