SCHOOL
CHOICE EXPLAINED
(July 2016) The Policy Foundation will
hold an event in late July explaining school
choice programs. Arkansas became the
25th state to enact a school choice program in 2015. The idea originated with Dr. Milton Friedman
(1912-2006), the 1976 Nobel Economics Laureate.
Dr. Friedman was born July 31, 1912, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
School choice programs include education
savings accounts, tax credits and deductions, tax credit scholarships and
vouchers. The Friedman Foundation for
Educational Choice provides the following descriptions for each type of
program:1
Education
savings accounts allow
parents "to withdraw their children from a public school district or
charter school and receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized
savings accounts. Those funds can cover
private school tuition and fees, online learning programs, private tutoring,
educational therapies, college course costs, and other higher education
expenses."
Tax
credits and deductions
allow parents to "receive state income tax relief for approved educational
expenses, which can include private school tuition, books, supplies, computers,
tutors, and transportation. Tax credits
lower the total taxes a person owes; a deduction reduces a person's total
taxable income."
Tax
credit scholarships
allow taxpayers to receive "full or partial tax credits for donating to
nonprofits that provide K-12 private school scholarships. The amount of tax credits distributed is
capped at an amount determined by" a legislative body, "which, in
turn, affects the availability and size of scholarships."
Vouchers give parents "all or a portion of
the public funding set aside for their children's education to choose private
schools that best fit their learning needs.
State funds typically expended by a school district are allocated to
families in the form of a voucher to pay partial or full tuition at a private
school, including religious and non-religious options." Arkansas' Succeed Scholarship Program, enacted
in 2015, is a voucher-style program.
The late July event is free, informal
and open to the public. The forum will
start at Noon. Please contact the Policy
Foundation at (501) 537-0825 for further information or to make a reservation.
1
http://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/what-is-school-choice/