What are Tax Credit Scholarships?
Frequently Asked Questions
Tax-credit scholarships (TCS) are the most common private-school choice program. There are currently 26 TCS programs in 21 states in the US.
FAQs about Tax-Credit Scholarships:
Tax-credit scholarship (TCS) policies create an incentive for taxpayers to contribute to nonprofit scholarship organizations that aid families with tuition and, in some states, other K–12 educational expenses. As with other policies, their ultimate success or failure depends greatly on how they are designed. This paper explores the central design features of TCS policies—such as eligibility, the tax credit value, credit caps, and academic accountability provisions—and outlines the different approaches taken by the TCS policies in each state. The paper also offers suggestions regarding each feature for policymakers who want to design a TCS policy that most likely to succeed at its central purpose: empowering families to provide their children with the education that works best for them.
Read Jason Bedrick’s report here.
I am among the countless individuals whose lives have been shaped by Catholic education; in my case, it was attending high school at Austin Prep. Despite a stellar record, Catholic schools are facing a grim financial picture. But a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gives new hope to the schools and to the many Massachusetts families with children who would benefit from attending them.
Read More from Tom Birmingham’s op-ed here.
Education tax credit programs offer incentives to attract donations to scholarship organizations, which then distribute the money to families to help pay private and parochial school tuitions.
Read More from Kendra Espinoza’s op-ed here.
In a republic based on the consent of the governed, there is a strong public interest in having an educated citizenry. Yet in Massachusetts, the cradle of public schooling in America where the state constitution directs us to “cherish” education, we seem to dole out incentives for just about everything except education.
Read More from Jamie Gass and Charles Chieppo‘s op-ed here.
This week, in a special segment of “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are honored to be joined by Kendra Espinoza, lead plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, just decided yesterday, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, and Erica Smith, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, which represented the plaintiffs. Kendra shares what motivated her and her daughters, Naomi and Sarah, to take such a courageous stand for school choice and religious liberty, and describes her experience being the lead plaintiff in a high-profile Supreme Court case.
Listen to Gerard and Cara as they are joined by Kendra Espinoza and Erica Smith from the IJ here.
At a time when Catholic secondary schools are closing all across the country, A Vision of Hope reviews the successes of this education model in Massachusetts, and offers recommendations to help these schools increase student enrollment. It includes contributions from a broad range of nationally renowned researchers and authors; a foreword by George Weigel, author of an international bestselling two-part biography of Pope St. John Paul II; and an introduction from former Ambassadors to the Holy See Raymond Flynn and Mary Ann Glendon. The book contends that Catholic schools in Massachusetts must focus on the characteristics that make them academically successful and distinguish them from traditional public schools, but must also seek new models and governance structures that will help them achieve financial sustainability. At the same time, barriers to public support of the schools should be eliminated.
In this book, we look at tax-credit scholarship programs and how they expand access to Catholic schools.
Learn more about A Vision of Hope here.
Learn more about how you can help exand tax-credit scholarship programs!