National School Choice

What is National School Choice?

Federal tax credit scholarship legislation like that in the Educational Choice for Children Act (H.R.833/S.292) and the Universal School Choice Act (S.1810) represents the most ambitious school choice opportunity in Congress, aimed at expanding educational opportunities in all 50 states. Legislation sponsored by Representatives Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Burgess Owens (R-UT) and Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) , Tim Scott (R-SC), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) and creates scholarships funded by private donations to non-profit scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) in the states. Donors receive a 100% non-refundable tax credit.

Why do we need it?

School choice has made historic progress across more states than ever, but too many families are locked out of opportunity because their state legislatures are controlled by an education establishment that does not prioritize the needs of K-12 families. We need school choice in every state, which is what a federal tax credit scholarship would ensure.

The specifics:

The credits are $10 billion annually. Corporate donors may contribute 5% of their taxable income; individual donors may contribute up to 10% of their adjusted gross income or $5,000, whichever is greater. The bill includes an automatic 5% escalator if 90% of the credit cap is reached.

Each state is guaranteed access to up to $20 million in tax credits if SGOs can raise the funds, then it is first- come, first-serve. Students in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. can benefit.

Students in grades K-12 in every state and every school setting are eligible. The income threshold is set at 300 percent of median gross income by region as determine d by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This would cover 85% – 90% of K-12 students in every state.

SGOs determine the individual amount of scholarship awards and uses which include tuition, tutoring, education technology, on-line courses, curriculum, fees, homeschool expenses, or special needs services.

This legislation has no role for the U.S. Department of Education and contains no federal mandates on states, school districts, schools or homeschool families. SGOs must complete an annual audit and register with the Treasury Department.

How Does School Choice Help Students?

When publicly supported scholarships are accessible to students to use at the school of their choice, families win. All parents should have a wide range of high-quality educational options to choose from, regardless of income, which is the opportunity school choice unlocks. This legislation will help parents of as many as two million students choose the school or education service that works best for their child. In states with existing private school choice offerings, the tax credit scholarship can be stacked on top of the state offering, increasing purchasing power for parents and helping more students. In states that lack these options, this legislation will create educational opportunity for those K-12 parents and students. Students attending public, private, magnet, charter, micro, on-line, or homeschools all could benefit.

National school choice legislation will help parents of up to two million students choose the school or education service that works best for their child.

Animated Boxed Section

$10 Billion Available in Tax Credits

Up to 2 Million Students Helped

Expands School Choice to All 50 States

School Choice in the News

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Congressional Co-Sponsors of Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Legislation

US Senate

Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN)
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Sen. John Boozman (R-AR)
Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL)
Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC)
Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV)
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH)
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
Sen. James Justice (R-WV)
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA)
Sen. Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY)
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS)
Sen. David McCormick (R-PA)
Sen. Ashley Moody (FL)
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH)
Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE)
Sen. James Risch (R-ID)
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)

US House of Representatives

Arizona

Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-6)
Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ-8)

Arkansas

French Hill (R-AR-2)

California

Ken Calvert (R-CA-41)
Vince Fong (R-CA-20)
Kevin Kiley (R-CA-3)
Young Kim (R-CA-40)

Colorado

Jeff Crank (R-CO-5)
Jeff Hurd (R-CO-3)

Florida

Byron Donalds (R-FL-19)
Neal P. Dunn (R-FL-2)
Scott Franklin (R-FL-18)
Mike Haridopolos (R-FL-8)
Laurel Lee (R-FL-15)
John Rutherford (R-FL-5)
Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27)
Daniel Webster (R-FL-11)

Georgia

Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12
Mike Collins (R-GA-10)
Richard McCormick (R-GA-7)

Illinois

Darin LaHood (R-IL-16)
Mike Bost (R-IL-12)
Mary Miller (R-IL-15)

Indiana

Erin Houchin (R-IN-9)
Mark Messmer (R-IN-8)
Rudy Yakym (R-IN-2)

Iowa

Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4)
Ashley Hinson (R-IA-2)
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1)

Kansas

Tracey Mann (R-KS-1)

Kentucky

Andy Barr (R-KY-6)
Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2)

Louisiana

Julia Letlow (R-LA-5)

Michigan

Tom Barrett (R-MI-7)
Jack Bergman (R-MI-1)
Bill Huizenga (R-MI-4)
John James (R-MI-10)
John R. Moolenaar (R-MI-2)
Tim Walberg (R-MI-5)

Minnesota

Brad Finstad (R-MN-1)
Pete Stauber (R-MN-8)

Missouri

Eric Burlison (R-MO-7)
Robert Onder (R-MO-3)

Montana

Troy Downing (R-MT-2)

New Jersey

Christopher Smith (R-NJ-4)

New York

Nick LaLota (R-NY-1)
Nicholas Langworthy (R-NY-23)
Michael Lawler (R-NY-17)
Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11)
Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21)
Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24)

North Carolina

Pat Harrigan (R-NC-10)
Richard Hudson (R-NC-9)
Tim Moore (R-NC-14)
Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC-3)
David Rouzer (R-NC-7)

Ohio

Troy Balderson (R-OH-12)
Mike Carey (R-OH-15)
Jim Jordan (R-OH-4)
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH-7)
Michael Rulli (R-OH-6)
Michael R. Turner (R-OH-10)

Oklahoma

Stephanie Bice (R-OK-5)
Kevin Hern (R-OK-1)

Pennsylvania

John Joyce (R-PA-13)
Mike Kelly (R-PA-16)
Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA-7)
Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9)
Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11)

South Carolina

Sheri Biggs (R-SC-3)
Nancy Mace (R-SC-1)
William R. Timmons (R-SC-4)
Joe Wilson (R-SC-2)

Tennessee

David Kustoff (R-TN-8)
John Rose (R-TN-6)

Texas

Brian Babin (R-TX-36)
Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2)
Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-1)
Pete Sessions (R-TX-17)
Randy K. Weber Sr. (R-TX-14)

Utah

Blake D. Moore (R-UT-1)
Burgess Owens (R-UT-4)

Virginia

Ben Cline (R-VA-6)
John McGuire (R-VA-5)

Washington

Michael Baumgartner (R-WA-5)

Wisconsin

Bryan Steil (R-WI-1)
Thomas Tiffany (R-WI-7)

Coalition Support for Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Legislation

National Leaders

Hon. Betsy DeVos, Former U.S. Secretary of Education
Hon. William Barr, Former U.S. Attorney General
Hon. Scott Walker, 45th Governor of Wisconsin
The Hon. Joseph Lieberman, Former U.S. Senator, Connecticut *
Dr. Cade Brumley, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education
Gerard Robinson, Former VA Secretary of Education
James Bopp, National Conservative Leader
Jim Blew, Former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education
Virginia Walden Ford, National School Choice Advocate
Hon. Frank Keating, Former Governor of Oklahoma
Dr. Patrick J. Wolf
Dr. Mick Zais, Former Deputy U.S. Secretary of Education
Hon. Luke Messer, Former Member of Congress and co-founder, Congressional School Choice Caucus
Reverend Joshua C. Robertson, CEO & Founder, Black Pastors United for Education (BPUE)
Over 1,150 Clergy & Faith Leaders

* Deceased

National Organizations

ACE Scholarships
ACSI Children’s Education Fund (ACEF)
Agudath Israel of America
America First Policy Institute
American Association of Christian Schools
American Federation for Children (AFC)
American Principles Project
Americans for Tax Reform
Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
Black Mothers Forum
Catholic Education Partners
CatholicVote
Center for Education Reform
Children’s Scholarship Fund
Club for Growth
Coalition for Jewish Values
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Catholic Education (USCCB)
Invest in Education Coalition
National Association of Private Catholic & Independent Schools (NAPCIS)
National Catholic Education Association (NCEA)
Council for American Private Education (CAPE)
Defense of Freedom Institute(DFI)
Environmentalists for Effective Education
Family Policy Alliance
Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd)
Freedom Foundation
Heartland Institute
Heritage Action for America
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
Independent Women’s Forum – Education Freedom Center
Mountain States Policy Center
Orthodox Union Advocacy
Parental Rights Foundation
Parents Defending Education Action
Partners in Mission
Project 21 – Black Leadership Network
Protect the First
Teach Coalition
60Plus Association

State Organizations and Leaders

Alabama

Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund (AOSF)
Alabama Policy Institute (API)
Scholarships for Kids

Alaska

Alaska Family Action

Arizona

Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization (ACSTO)
Arizona Leadership Foundation
Institute for Better Education
School Tuition Organization 4 Kidz (STO4KIDZ)
Tuition Organization for Private Schools (T.O.P.S. for Kids)

Arkansas

Arkansas Family Council
Arkansas Parents for School Choice
The Arkansas Reform Alliance
Laurie Lee, Chair, The Arkansas Reform Alliance
Opportunity Arkansas

California

California Association of Private School Organizations
California Policy Center
Lance Izumi, JD, distinguished school choice leader
Teach CA

Colorado

Hon. Cory Gardner, former U.S. Senator, Colorado
Colorado Parent Advocacy Network (CPAN)
Independence Institute
Parents Challenge
Ready Colorado
The Schuck Initiatives Foundation

Connecticut

Kids’ Scholarship Fund

Delaware

Caesar Rodney Institute

Florida

Center Academy Schools
Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Teach Florida

Georgia

Frontline Policy Action
Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO)
Georgia Leadership Foundation
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program

Idaho

Idaho Family Policy Center

Illinois

Agudath Israel of Illinois
Empower Illinois
Illinois Policy
Illinois Coalition of Nonpublic Schools
Unique Learners Unite (ULU)
Ambassador Ronald Gidwitz, former Chairman, Illinois State Board of Education
The Urban Center
Big Shoulders Fund

Indiana

Indiana Family Institute
Student First Technologies

Iowa

The Family Leader
Homeschool Iowa
Hispanic Alliance for Choice in Education Reform
Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education

Kansas

Kansas Family Voice

Kentucky

Commonwealth Educational Opportunities
Commonwealth Policy Center
EdChoice Kentucky

Louisiana

LA Kids Matter
Louisiana Family Forum
Eddie Rispone, Founder, ACE Scholarships Louisiana
Rolfe McCollister, Former Member, Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors

Maryland

Maryland Family Institute
Children’s Scholarship Fund Baltimore
Teach MD

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Family Institute

Michigan

Albanian-American Conservative Republicans
Citizens for Traditional Values
Great Lakes Education Project
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools (MANS)
Parent Advocates for Choice in Education (PACE)
St. John Lutheran School

Minnesota

Aim Higher Foundation
Minnesota Parents Alliance
Opportunity for All Kids (OAK)

Mississippi

Empower Mississippi

Missouri

Agudath Israel of Missouri
Herzog Tomorrow Foundation

Montana

Frontier Institute
Montana Leadership Foundation

Nebraska

Nebraska Coalition of Nonpublic Schools
Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska

Nevada

Student Choice Fund of Nevada
Power2Parent
Teach NV

New Hampshire

Children’s Scholarship Fund New Hampshire