By Robbie Sequeira, stateline.org
More than a dozen states in the past two years have launched or extended programs that allow families to use taxpayers to send their students to private schools. Now President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress want to overcome these efforts.
Trump in January, published an executive decree ordering several federal agencies to authorize the states, tribes and families of the military to exploit federal money for so -called school choice. These may be in the form of educational savings accounts, good programs, tax credits or scholarships. Trump’s order also aims to extend access to public charter schools, which are free from some of the rules that apply to traditional public schools.
Meanwhile at the Congress, 24 Republican senators have signed legislation that would provide $ 10 billion in annual tax credits to individuals and companies that make contributions to benefits to organizations that offer private study scholarships. A Nebraska republican introduced a complementary measure in the house.
Already this year, Idaho, Tennessee and Wyoming have approved school choice programs, and invoices are progressing in Kansas, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. A bill in Mississippi died before progressing. Most of the measures at play would open programs to all families, whatever the income, although some states limit the total amount of available money.
Supporters of the school’s choice say that it gives parents controlling their children’s education – and an escape hatch if they are dissatisfied with their local public school. Many conservatives, religious institutions and private schools are in favor of the choice of school, as well as some people of color who live in districts with sub-performative public schools.
“Each child is different. They learn in different environments. There are so many factors that I believe that parents should be those who make the decision to know where their child is going to make the best and have the most successful, “said Senator of the Republican State of Indiana, Linda Rogers. Former educator, Rogers sponsored a bill in its state which would provide additional money to charter schools, which are considered a form of school choice.
Opponents, including teachers’ unions, public school professionals and many rural legislators of both parties, say that such measures undermine traditional public schools by moving them from money.
“When we start to take public schools, we injure our children, our low -income children. They will not prosper this legislation,” said the representative of the Democratic State of Tennessee, Ronnie Glynn
Joshua Cowen, professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said the good ones are a budget for states.
“Goods do not change costs – they add costs,” said Cowen during a telephone interview. “Most good beneficiaries were already in private schools, which means that states pay for education they did not have to finance.”
The transition to distance learning during the COVVI -19 pandemic, which gave parents a first row seat to look at what their children were – or were not – learning in their classes, contributed to the recent momentum of school. Parents’ frustration has also been extended by public school closures.
“Parents have looked at what was going on in schools,” said Bella Dimarco, senior analyst in kindergarten educational policy at the 12th year at Futured, an independent reflection group at the University of Georgetown. “There were a lot of discussions during the pandemic around the choice of school … of what public schools do not do for their children.”
The first program of modern schoolchildren, created in Milwaukee in 1990, was a bipartite effort to help low -income families allow themselves private schools. In recent years, more states have passed school choice programs focused on certain groups, such as low -income students or disabled students, universal programs open to students from all walks of life.
“Historically, programs were still intended for students in need,” said Dimarco. “But in the past two years, the new push has been for these universal programs.”
Currently, more than 30 states and Washington, DC, have at least one school choice program. More than a dozen states now offer almost universal universal access, allowing students from kindergarten to 12th year to participate in the choice of school, regardless of income.
Edchice, a non -profit organization that defends the choice of school, estimates that 1.2 million students frequent private schools this school year with the help of public tax credits, scholarships or vouchers.
Different strategies
States that promulgated school choice programs this year continued different strategies.
The Idaho program promulgated last month, for example, will offer an annual tax credit of $ 5,000 per child ($ 7,500 for disabled students) to help cover private training costs.
The new Tennessee program will offer 20,000 scholarships of around $ 7,000 each. During its first year, half of Tennessee scholarships will be reserved for households earning less than $ 173,000 for a family of four, but this restriction will be deleted in the following years.
According to a legislative analysis, around 65% of Tennessee vouchers should be assigned to students who frequent private schools.
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