NCPA


Policy Issues

NCPA Publications

Both Sides

Editorial Opinions

Audio/Visual


NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
HOME / DONATE / ONE LEVEL UP / ABOUT NCPA / CONTACT US
Tuition Tax Credits Boost School Choice

Daily Policy Digest

Education Issues

Wednesday, December 19, 2001

More options are available to parents seeking educational opportunities for their children through tuition tax credits that allow them to send their children to either public or private schools. A number of state programs are based on the success Arizona has had with its program. The program is relatively simple.

  • Taxpayers who make a voluntary donation to a school tuition organization (STO) receive a matching (dollar-for-dollar) tax credit up to a maximum of $500 -- thus reducing their state tax payments by $500.
  • Parents choose the STO to which they apply for assistance based on the schools the STP serves.
  • Because the STOs set their own parameters, the size of scholarships varies, ranging from about $600 to $3,389 -- with the 2000-2001 school year average at $856.
  • Between 1998 and 2000, the total number of taxpayers making donations to STOs has leaped from 4,247 to 37,368 (see Figure).
Opponents challenged the law as unconstitutional, but the program prevailed because of two characteristics of the enabling law: first that the program doesn't involved the state (taxpayers participate voluntarily) and second that the program offers tax credits for donations to public schools. Similar programs have now been enacted in Pennsylvania and Florida, and are being considered in a number of other states.

Source: Lisa Graham Keegan (Education Leaders Council), "Tuition Tax Credits: A Model for School Choice," Brief Analysis No. 384, December 18, 2001, NCPA.

For text
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba384/

For more on School Choice
http://www.ncpa.org/iss/edu/
12770 Coit Rd., Suite 800 - Dallas, TX 75251-1339 - 972/386-6272 - Fax 972/386-0924
601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 900 South Building - Washington, DC 20004 - 202/220-3082 - Fax 202/220-3096
Copyright © 2001 National Center for Policy Analysis - All rights reserved.