Politics & School Choice
Thank goodness Glenn Youngkin is picking a fight on school choice. The former Virginia Governor is behind Empowering America’s Parents, a group planning to advertise directly to voters in the 19 states that haven’t joined the new federal program for tax-credit scholarships. “If they blow this opportunity,” Mr. Youngkin said on social media, “they’ll be leaving kids behind in their state while children in other states get the benefit.”
Nationwide about 52 million students are eligible for the scholarships, or more than 90% of the K-12 population, according to a recent study from Patrick Graff of the American Federation for Children. Families qualify if their household income is 300% or less of the local median. Donors to scholarship organizations will be able to claim a $1,700 federal tax credit. This funding stream is available, however, only to students whose states choose to participate.
Thirty-one states have agreed or signaled intent, and they include 30.9 million eligible students, Mr. Graff writes. The biggest are Texas (5.5 million) and Florida (3.2 million), led by Republicans. Democratic Govs. Kathy Hochul in New York and Jared Polis in Colorado have also said they plan to opt in, with 2.7 million and 895,202 eligible students, respectively.
But more than 20 million children could be left out in 19 states and Washington, D.C., as Democratic leaders bow to the teachers unions, which don’t want families to have alternatives to government schools. That includes nearly six million students in California, the most of any state, and 1.9 million in Illinois. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, with 1.8 million, is still noncommittal. He seems to fear the unions as he gears up to run for President.
