Lawmakers and school choice advocates gathered in Tampa on Tuesday to promote a federal bill that would create the first nationwide school voucher program.
The Educational Choice for Children Act would create a tax break for individuals or corporations that donate to fund vouchers, essentially scholarships, that would pay for private school tuition, home school materials, tutoring, special needs services or education technology.
The debate over school choice has heightened in recent years. Supporters say that the scholarships provide families an opportunity to give their children the education that suits them best, letting them explore options outside of their ZIP code.
However, opponents point out that redirecting public funds toward unregulated private schools harms public education and the majority of students that attend public schools.
President Donald Trump has signaled his support for the movement, signing an executive order supporting school choice programs shortly after taking office in January.
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In 2023, Florida expanded its voucher program, removing the income cap for those who can receive the scholarships, and allowing all families, regardless of how much they earn, to apply and receive the public funds. The scholarships average about $8,000 per student.
Florida's voucher program is now one of the largest, serving over half a million students. However, about 70% benefit those who were already in private schools.
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, who was formerly Florida's attorney general, spoke in support of the Educational Choice for Children Act that she co-sponsored.
“We're hoping that good legislation nationally can help other states do the same things that we've done here in Florida,” Moody said at Tuesday's press conference, “and that is to provide opportunity to children based on their needs and not where they find themselves living.”
Economic researcher breaks down the numbers
The bill proposes providing $10 billion in voucher funds for the first year, that would go toward about 2 million students. The amount would increase by 5% if the previous year’s tax credits were fully claimed.
Supporters of the bill have touted that the scholarships are funded with private donations, not federal money. Critics say that that’s misleading.
Carl Davis, with the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, explained that under the program donors will receive an “unprecedented” dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for their contributions, meaning the money will end up coming from the federal government anyway.
“When you set up an incentive that's 100% of the amount donated, that's not an incentive anymore. That's just a reimbursement,” said Davis, “The money is clearly not coming out of the so-called donors pockets at all. It's going to come out of federal revenues.”
Davis, who authored the institute's report on the bill’s impacts, called the policy “egregious.”
“Usually with any cause you pick, the federal government will give you a tax break worth up to around 37 cents on the dollar, and the rest of it comes out of your own pocket,” said Davis.
With the tax incentive outlined in the bill, donors are getting almost three times the typical rate.
“There’s nothing like this in the federal tax code right now,” Davis said.
In addition, the bill allows individuals and corporations to donate in corporate stock rather than cash. In that case, donors receive their full contribution in tax credits while avoiding having to report capital gains tax, resulting in a profit.
“It turns the whole idea of charitable giving on its head,” said Davis, “In many instances, they may not have any philanthropic intent at all. They're just signing up because the tax savings are so absolutely massive that it’s too good to pass up.”
The institute estimates the Educational Choice for Children Act will cost the federal government $134 billion over the next 10 years.
