* Tribune…
Illinois could soon opt into the first federal school voucher program — an initiative long-championed by private school advocates and religious conservatives — but Gov. JB Pritzker has yet to weigh in.
Under the program, part of the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act, donors can get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 for giving to scholarship-granting nonprofits. Those scholarships can go to private school tuition, transportation and other education-related expenses. […]
“We will evaluate the issue through a lens focused on affordability for working families and what best supports Illinois students, families, and public schools,” according to the statement [from Gov. Pritzker’s office].
In a July email, however, Pritzker’s office criticized the program, noting that it could “potentially (reduce) state and federal funding for public schools.” […]
“It’s a federal tax credit, so it doesn’t take any state or local resources,” [Andrew Broy, the president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools] said.
* Isabel asked Pritzker about the change in response today. His answer…
Nothing’s changed. We have not seen any rules that have been put out. Remember, the federal government hasn’t put any rules around this program. Those rules when they’re issued, we’ll be able to evaluate whether that’s good for the state of Illinois and the people of Illinois or not. But until we have that right just on its face, the question is, is this just a repeat of trying to take money out of public schools and move it into private schools, which is what the Trump administration, generally speaking, has been in favor of, or is this something that could be useful? But we just don’t know, because there are no rules around it right now. […]
As far as I understood, those rules were supposed to come out before the end of the year. They still aren’t out. So we’ll take a look at those and make a decision then.
* And explanation from the US Departments of Education and Treasury…
• Using the Education Freedom Tax Credit, taxpayers can receive a credit of up to $1,700 for contributions made to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) that would otherwise have been owed to the government in Federal income taxes.
• SGOs then use these funds to provide scholarships to children to attend a school of choice or to access other education-related services and products.
• Scholarships can be used for any qualified education expense of an eligible student, which includes a broad set of expenses incurred in connection with or required by any K-12 public, private, or charter school. Examples include tuition for students to attend private schools of choice, tutoring at public schools, and support services for students with disabilities.
The tuition assistance is available to households with income “up to 300 percent of the area’s median gross income.” The Tribune reported that, in Cook County, kids in households with up to four people with annual incomes as high as $359,000 would qualify for the assistance.
The bill’s language is here.
- H-W - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 12:27 pm:
=== It’s a federal tax credit, so it doesn’t take any state or local resources ===
My contrarian comments on a previous page about protecting state and local tax revenues are less relevant.
- Mr. Middleground - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 12:27 pm:
This is an obvious “yes” for Illinois. I think Governor Pritzker will get there in the end. Ultimately, it will mean an increase in net new dollars for public schools as additional cost services (tutoring, career and technical education, etc) will be eligible to be funded from an SGO. If there is a decrease in enrollment at public schools (a very big if), then dollars per student will increase. There is no mechanism to decrease funding to public schools as a result of this change. If Illinois doesn’t participate, our students miss out.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 12:37 pm:
=This is an obvious “yes” for Illinois.=
Let me fix your error…
This is an obvious “no” for America and Illinois. As the current administration continues to erode support for public education this is just another attack on the one true democratic institution left in this coountry.
- Socially DIstant Watcher - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 12:43 pm:
This administration has many times just since swearing in attached impossible agreements to access federal dollars. If the only way real students can see real.money is to turn over control of schools to Trump, this all may vanish
- nukeguard - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 12:49 pm:
Winnebago county has an advisory question on the March ballot for it. With it being a federal tax credit for private donations to these scholarship granting organizations, it’s not necessarily like it’s deferring public school money so I think Illinois should join in.
- Niles Township - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 12:52 pm:
Reasonable minds can disagree agree about the value of the expired state program. On the other hand, there is really no reason to say no to this federal program other than it’s from trump and as a cave to the teachers unions. I say this a Democrat who believes in strong public schools. Other democratic governors like Polis and Stein seem to be on-board. Pritzker should join them.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 1:01 pm:
=ther than it’s from trump and as a cave to the teachers unions. I say this a Democrat who believes in strong public schools. Other democratic governors like Polis and Stein seem to be on-board. Pritzker should join them.=
As a member of management and not beholden to teachers unions I can say very definitively that we should not join the program. It does divert money from schools. It does not matter to me if it is federal or state.
- DuPage Saint - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 1:06 pm:
At first blush since it is federal money and does not appear to take money from the state I would say why not? However as stated in comments I would bet there will be many many strings attached to any funding
- Steve - Wednesday, Jan 28, 26 @ 1:20 pm:
-This is an obvious “no” for America and Illinois. -
26 states have already opted in. So, it’s not an obvious no for a lot of states.
https://tinyurl.com/mtb3s8hr