蜜桃影视

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After her Jan. 7 , former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos left office with little to show for her .

But on the heels of Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue, a Supreme Court ruling from June 2020 in which a 5-4 conservative majority ruled that states could not constitutionally exclude religious institutions from participating in programs that subsidize private school tuition, and in the throes of a deadly pandemic that has led many families to , a number of state governments are now expanding programs that provide publicly funded scholarships for private schools.

Though DeVos鈥檚 efforts to re-route CARES Act money to private schools were , 19 states already fund private school choice through policies known as tax-credit scholarships. Now in 2021, over a quarter of those states are moving to expand their programs 鈥� and three new states, , , and , have introduced legislation to create programs of their own.

The most popular form of private school choice, tax-credit scholarship policies allow individuals or corporations to offset the cost of private school tuition by funding student scholarships while receiving tax credits in return for their contribution.

And despite the 180-degree departure the Biden administration is taking from DeVos鈥檚 stance, the legal landscape on private school choice seems to have shifted since the Espinoza ruling to facilitate the enactment and expansion of these policies.

In December, a school choice advocacy organization called the Pioneer Institute released a toolkit, with a foreword written by plaintiff Kendra Espinoza, to . The report鈥檚 author, Jason Bedrick, who works as director of policy at EdChoice, said that the ruling eases the legal barriers to enacting tax-credit scholarship policies.

鈥淭丑别 Espinoza decision is clarifying and may open some doors in some state legislatures,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视.

The Pioneer Institute report outlines the different dimensions of these choice programs that legislators ought to consider 鈥� eligibility requirements for students, tax credit values and caps, scholarship size, accountability 鈥� and suggests enacting well-funded, widely accessible scholarship programs.

In 2021, Bedrick said, there have already been 鈥渇ar more鈥� educational choice bills introduced in state legislatures than usual, and many are 鈥渕ore ambitious and expansive鈥� than in prior years. While this uptick may be driven in part by school shutdowns in the face of a pandemic, 鈥�Espinoza is certainly a part of the equation,鈥� Bedrick said.

To Nebraska state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, whose state is one of only three that has neither private school choice nor charters schools, the ruling was a game changer.

鈥淚 was ecstatic鈥� when the Supreme Court released its decision last June, she told 蜜桃影视.

In years past, Linehan had proposed bills for private school choice using the tax-credit model, but they were blocked by filibuster. The 鈥�,鈥� however, which she introduced on Jan. 13 and funds private school scholarships for families of the eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, has been met with an entirely different reception.

Her bill already has 14 co-sponsors, including a leading labor union leader, and has been recognized as a line item in the governor鈥檚 budget.

The legislation has a hearing scheduled for Jan. 28, and then will still need to pass through the state’s single legislative body before it can be signed into law by the governor. But Linehan is optimistic.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e at a tipping point,鈥� she said.

Many state constitutions, including Nebraska鈥檚, stipulate bans, known as 鈥淏laine amendments,鈥� on allocating tax dollars for religious purposes. The laws derive from 19th-century efforts to . Post-Espinoza, Bedrick explained, those rules no longer can deny religious schools, which make up nationally, from participating in tax-credit scholarship programs.

鈥�Espinoza clarifies that school choice programs would be constitutional under a Blaine amendment,鈥� he explained.

In Missouri and Washington, which also have Blaine amendments on the books, the newly introduced bills to establish tax credit scholarship programs are scheduled for hearings later this month.

In the past, legal battles over these programs have tended to fall along partisan lines. In Nevada, when lawmakers attempted to scale up policies for private school choice in 2017, Democrats blocked the efforts. Arizona, too, saw partisan squabbles over its choice policies, but despite , the state is now poised to .

An 鈥榠ncredibly unusual鈥� policy

While private school choice advocates celebrate the policy window opened by Espinoza, many school leaders fear negative implications for public education.

To , CEO of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, using tax-credit scholarships to improve education represents a 鈥渇alse solution.鈥�

鈥淲e all benefit from high-quality public schools, regardless of whether your own child attends them,鈥� Nozoe told 蜜桃影视 over email. 鈥淭ax credits鈥� reduce the pot of revenue the public depends on to sustain their schools.鈥�

The scholarship policies rely on tax credits 鈥� from 50 up to 100 cents on the dollar, depending on the state 鈥� in return for contributions to assist with private school tuition. The high return rates are 鈥渋ncredibly unusual,鈥� says , research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Most other credits, he said, such as for donating to a soup kitchen, save only five to 10 cents on the dollar for state taxes.

鈥淚f a taxpayer makes a contribution,鈥� explained Davis, 鈥渁nd then gets all their money, or nearly all their money back from their state government, ultimately that money has come out of the state coffers, not out of that taxpayer鈥檚 pocket.鈥�

To Davis, the difference between tax-credit scholarship programs and private school vouchers is purely mechanical. Both programs result in publicly subsidized private school education. Tax-credit scholarship policies simply introduce a 鈥渕iddleman鈥� to do so, he said. Though some state legislatures have, on occasion, revisited and eliminated tax-credit programs when the political tides turn, Davis harbors concerns that tax credits can fall into a less visible category of fiscal policy than many other expenditures, such as vouchers.

鈥淲hen you get a tax credit inserted into the tax code.鈥� it doesn鈥檛 have to be voted on every year or two as part of the appropriations process in setting a budget,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 put on autopilot and it just becomes part of the background of the tax code.鈥�

Linehan, however, isn鈥檛 concerned with the expenditure, arguing that her Nebraska scholarship policy would not pose a threat to public school budgets. The proposed $10 million in tax credits 鈥� which amounts to approximately one quarter of one percent of the state鈥檚 total education budget 鈥� is insubstantial, she said, compared to overall spending. The tax revenue that the program directs toward tuition would be less than what the state spends per pupil in funding, she said, meaning that the program could actually lead to savings.

鈥淓very child, if they have a way to get to a better place, we ought to let them do that,鈥� said Linehan. 鈥淓specially when it doesn鈥檛 cost the state hardly anything compared to our budget.鈥�

Bedrick, too, is optimistic about the fiscal side of tax-credit scholarships.

鈥淭丑别se programs actually have positive effects on the state budget,鈥� he said, pointing to studies that show , generated through the same mechanism cited by Linehan.

Nozoe doesn鈥檛 share their optimism.

Revenue neutral tax credit programs make for a 鈥渘ice talking point,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut those aspirations rarely account for a district鈥檚 fixed costs … or for the reality that a large percentage of benefit recipients might already be attending private schools.鈥�

Nebraska鈥檚 proposed legislation would only cover low-income students seeking to move from public to private schools, not those who are already enrolled in private schools, but other states鈥� .

Before the IRS , some tax-credit scholarships by cashing in first on state tax credits and then again on federal tax deductions. One religious school in Georgia that 鈥測ou actually stand to make money on this program.鈥�

Propelling marginalized students forward

At its core, the debate over tax-credit scholarship policies is a clash over perhaps the most fundamental question in public education: Should states invest in improving struggling public schools that already exist, or should they help students from failing schools jump ship in search of better educational opportunities at charter schools, magnet schools, and private schools?

To Keith Jacobs, who manages charter school initiatives at Step Up for Students, a nonprofit that helps administer the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for lower-income families, the answer is clear. He sees his mission as empowering marginalized students and families to seek out the educational opportunities that will propel them toward success.

鈥淭oo often, lower-income families are bound to attend their district schools that are assigned by ZIP code,鈥� Jacobs told 蜜桃影视 over email. Jacobs lauds private school choice in his state because it 鈥減rovides these families the opportunity to choose a school that best meets the needs of their children.鈥�

One study on Florida鈥檚 tax-credit scholarship program, which is the biggest of its kind in the country, found that .

In the midst of a deadly pandemic that has pushed many schools remote and caused dangers such as suicide, malnutrition, and severe learning loss to spike among young people, the argument for school choice is all the more pressing, said Jacobs.

鈥淭丑别 pandemic has further exposed the need for flexible learning options. As we shift to more customized learning experiences, we want to ensure that lower-income families are not excluded,鈥� he said.

鈥淭丑别 priority is to ensure that the families with the biggest income needs are first in line to receive the scholarship.鈥�

To Bedrick, who distributed his report on tax-credit scholarships to numerous state partners working to develop such policies, the path toward equity includes opening up scholarship programs so that as many students as possible qualify to participate.

鈥淭丑别se programs are meant to empower every family to choose the school that works best for them,鈥� said Bedrick. 鈥淲e would advise having a universal program.鈥�

Watch: 蜜桃影视 Explains School Tax Credit Scholarships

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