Good News: School Choice Celebrates Three Victories (495 hits)
April 12, 2011 Print Good News: School Choice Celebrates Three Victories
by CitizenLink Staff
School choice advocates are celebrating back-to-back-to-back victories.
Arizona, Washington, D.C., and Indiana aim to let parents decide which learning environment is best for their kids. On April 4, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the tax-credit scholarship program in Arizona, which allows nearly 30,000 low- and moderate-income students to attend private schools.
Under the program, individuals can receive a 100 percent tax credit for donating up to $500 annually to scholarship-granting organizations. The organizations then award scholarships to students. Just a day after the ruling, the state Senate voted 27-1 to increase the individual donation limit to $750 ($1,500 for couples). The legislation now goes to the governor.
At least other eight states also have tax-credit scholarship programs.
On Friday, congressional leaders and the president agreed to restore the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to low-income students so they can attend better schools. The extension lasts for five years. President Obama and Congressional Democrats had begun to phase out the program.
An Indiana Senate committee was expected to vote today on legislation that would provide scholarships to low- and middle-income families so they could enroll their children at a school of their choosing. HB 1003 has already cleared the House.
