by Laura Waters
Ed. Note: Below is a press release from New Jersey Policy Institute urging Gov. Mikie Sherrill to opt into the Federal Education Tax Credit. While 30 states had already filled out the paperwork and listed their scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs, which have to be charitable nonprofits), some blue state governors, including Sherrill, were waiting to see the regulations, released just last week.
The regs are more narrow than some had hoped — you can’t exclude private schools that discriminate against LGBTQ students, for instance– but the money definitely can be used for high-dosage tutoring in public schools., curriculum and instructional materials, academic testing, dual-enrollment costs, and services for kids with disabilities. You just need to approve an SGO that works on that. For example, New Jersey could make the state-funded nonprofit New Jersey Tutoring Corps an SGO. Also, states can try it for a year and then opt out without penalty. All US taxpayers can use the tax credit ($1,700 for single, $3,400 for a couple) regardless of whether their state opts in. If NJ opts out, the money from residents using the tax credit will just go to other states.
Teacher unions are fiercely opposed to Gov. Sherrill opting in (although NJEA’s campaign for one of her opponents, former NJEA president Sean Spiller, funded by $45 million in teacher dues, may have diluted her obeisance to its agenda.) NJEA says, “the harm will affect all students, as schools are forced to divert resources to compensate for the loss of federal funds.” But that’s simply not true: As Chad Aldeman explains, ” if local civic organizations take advantage of the program, they could potentially drive millions of dollars in new spending [to public schools].”
For more info, here is a primer from EdChoice.
Read the full article here!
