Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Governor defends Parent of Choice tax credit as expanding school choice to working families
Summary
The governor said the Parent of Choice tax credit expands school-choice options for lower- and middle-income families, defended it against criticism that it primarily benefits wealthy families and called for removing caps and grandfathering current participants.
Asked about a rally supporting the Parent of Choice tax credit and criticism that the program benefits wealthier families, the governor defended the policy as expanding options for working and lower-income families. He said many middle-class and lower-income families approached him to say the credit enabled them to send children to schools they otherwise could not afford.
"The people that say that the tax credit just went towards, rich people, simply not true," the governor said. He argued that the program is separate from public education funding and that per-pupil funding for public schools increases in ways he described when students shift into the choice program. The governor said he wanted to remove caps on participation and to grandfather current participants to prevent sudden start-stop enrollment changes.
Context: the governor framed school choice as a competitive, market-driven approach to improving education and mentioned specialty schools such as aviation academies, STEM and vocational programs as possible options for families exercising choice. He said 80% of students would remain in public schools, a figure he presented in defense of the program.
Ending: the governor reaffirmed his backing for broadening school choice but did not provide legislative text, fiscal impact data or specific cap amounts.
