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House rejects substitute tax-credit plan for private-school tuition after heated debate
Summary
A proposal to let local school boards offer tax credits for private-school tuition was debated at length; lawmakers considered pilot-program language and geographic limits but ultimately the House voted the measure down.
The House took up Sub. Senate Bill 61, a measure intended to allow local school boards to use an income-tax credit mechanism to help districts manage enrollment and reduce class sizes by enabling parents to send students to private schools with a partial tax credit.
Representative Christian Alexander introduced the substitute and framed the bill as an optional local tool: school boards would decide whether to offer credits and at what level, subject to prescribed limits (the credit could not exceed the weighted pupil unit value). He said the measure was not a state mandate on districts but an option for boards facing enrollment pressure.
Opponents warned of long-term consequences. One critic said the bill would be a "nose of the camel" that could produce "socioeconomically advantaged flight" from public to private schools and urged rejection. A second critic noted that because many state programs and targeted allocations (such as technology grants and incentives tied to weighted pupil units) are calculated on those units, a drop in weighted units could reduce funding for other programs.
During floor debate the House adopted an amendment to make implementation subject to a one-year pilot program, with successive substitute language expanding pilot authority to the four largest counties. Supporters argued a pilot would allow evaluation; opponents said the pilot language limited local control because the state school board, not local boards, would ultimately decide whether a pilot could continue.
After extended debate on equity, rural impacts, fiscal notes (several members said the fiscal note was not yet available), and whether private-school capacity existed, the House held a final vote. The clerk announced the final tally as 26 yes and 46 no; the transcript records the bill as failing to pass and being filed.
What happens next: With the House vote recorded as failing, the substitute measure was filed and will not advance unless reintroduced; members urging defeat said they were protecting funding and services for remaining public-school students.
