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Nearly all schoolchildren in at least 30 states can apply for a new federal scholarship next year to help pay for private school, homeschooling, and other educational expenses, according to regulations proposed by the Trump administration.
The first national school choice scholarship program, the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, will launch January 1, establishing a taxpayer-funded incentive for families to choose private or homeschooling in participating states. Taxpayers who donate to an organization passing out the scholarships will receive a federal tax credit, a perk expected to further fuel the conservative school choice movement.
About 96% of children in those states should be eligible, according to the department. Children attending public schools could use the scholarships for extra learning expenses.
“Education freedom is the key to unlocking opportunity and success for our next generation of students,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement issued. The federal scholarship program, she said, will ensure “every child has access to the education they need, not one limited by ZIP code, family income, or government‑imposed barriers.”
School choice scholarships have been available for decades in conservative-led states and throughout the South, giving individual students taxpayer-funded grants ranging from a couple thousand dollars to more than $30,000 a year. In places where they are available to all students regardless of income, such as Florida and Arizona, the majority of students using the money were already in private or home school or were from affluent neighborhoods, an analysis by The Associated Press showed.
The federal program departs from most state programs by not forcing students to leave public school to qualify for a scholarship. Public school students could use the money for tutoring or special education therapies, although the Republican administration has not provided specific criteria for eligible expenses yet.
Regulators say they have set up the program in a way that will make it easier for poor students to apply, proposing to let students use proof of participation in a government assistance program in lieu of providing income documentation. Foster children would not have to provide any income verification when they apply, officials said.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.