Illinois families could benefit if school choice bill in U.S. House passes

(The Center Square) – Congress is considering school choice legislation that could help Illinois families after the state’s Invest in Kids Act expired last year.

U.S. House Resolution 9462, the Educational Choice for Children Act, would allow a tax credit for charitable donations to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to qualified elementary and secondary students.

Illinois Democratic U.S. Rep. Danny Davis opposed the proposal, saying it would undermine public schools.

“Public schools will always serve the majority of children in this country, and public schools are held accountable for serving our most vulnerable students,” Davis said.

The Illinois Board of Education’s most recent Illinois Report Card showed that 35% of public school students in Illinois read at grade level. Only 27% test at grade-level standards in math.

The Report Card also showed a chronic absenteeism rate of 28.3% in Illinois public schools.

Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow for the American Federation for Children, said parents could use scholarship money at public schools or private schools.

“They could use it for things like tuition, for tutoring, for special-needs services, educational technology, curriculum,” Mitchell said.

Republican U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska introduced the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), which advanced out of committee last week.

Shaka Mitchell of the American Federation for Children said the measure is not really an education bill.

“What this allows for is for private donors to contribute their money that would otherwise be their tax liability and put it into a scholarship fund,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the ECCA is a tax credit scholarship program.

“That’s really what it is at its core. It’s going to give the ability for millions of children to access an education that best meets their needs,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said this is the first time a tax credit scholarship bill of this scope has made it this far in Congress.

“Parent choice is not necessarily a partisan issue. I think that this is something that hopefully Republican senators, Democratic senators and ultimately the president can get behind to serve families,” Mitchell said.

Illinois’ tax credit scholarship program, the Invest in Kids Act, expired at the end of last year when the General Assembly failed to renew it.

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