As National School Choice Week comes to a close, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville joined U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy and U.S. Representative Adrian Smith to introduce the Educational Choice for Children Act to expand educational opportunities for students by providing a donation incentive for individuals and businesses who fund scholarships for public and private K-12 education expenses.
“There is no better cause than creating educational opportunities for our next generation of leaders,” Tuberville said in a press release. “Incentivizing greater investment in school choice will empower parents and students to make the decision best for them. I’m proud to support this legislation to ensure our students can achieve the brightest future possible.”
“Parents deserve the right to make the best educational decision for their child, regardless of income,” said Sen. Cassidy. “Our bill empowers families to pick the school that best fits their children’s needs.”
U.S. Senator Katie Britt also signed on as a co-sponsor of the legislation.
“This National School Choice Week, let’s recommit to ensuring that every single child across Alabama and our nation has the opportunity to unlock the American Dream through a high-quality education,” said Sen. Britt earlier this week in support of expanded school choice. “No child’s zip code should determine their destiny. School choice empowers families with the freedom to make important decisions to help their children achieve their full potential and secure a bright future.”
The Educational Choice for Children Act would:
· Provide $10 billion in annual tax credits to be made available to taxpayers. Allotment of these credits to individuals would be administered by the Treasury Department.
· Use a limited government approach with respect to federalism, thus avoiding mandates on states, localities, and school districts.
· Include provisions that govern Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs), as SGOs are given the ability to determine the individual amount of scholarship awards.
Numerous school choice advocacy groups endorsed the legislation, including the Invest in Education Coalition, American Federation for Children, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Heritage Action, Home School Legal Defense Association, Agudath Israel, Orthodox Union, Association of Christian Schools International, CAPE, Excel in Education, and former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
According to the Invest in Education Coalition, 49 million American children are currently in public schools. Only three percent of those children have a choice program in place so they can opt out of state-controlled education.
Tuberville spent over forty years in education as a coach and teacher. Tuberville has been an outspoken advocate for expanding school choice opportunities. He is serving his first term as a U.S. Senator after unseating incumbent Doug Jones in the 2020 general election.
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