On the March 17th ballot, some Illinois voters have an opportunity to express their support for Scholarship Credits made available through the Republican led “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed last July 4th. I say “some” Illinois voters will have an opportunity to express their opinion as only 32 of 102 counties will have the question on the ballot.
The scholarship credit allows all filing taxpayers to contribute $1,700 in designated donations to non-profit scholarship granting organizations. Homeschooled students and those in private and public schools could all benefit from the donations. The awarded scholarships can also be used for after-school assistance. These scholarship awards are an additional educational resource and do not impact local school funding levels. All students, whether in private, government or home school educational environments, will benefit from this initiative.
Only one requirement: each state must “opt in” to the scholarship program. Even if a majority of Illinois voters had had the opportunity to vote in the affirmative for scholarship credits, the decision to do so lies with Governor Pritzker and/or the Illinois legislature. While Governor Pritzker has not specifically declined to opt in to the scholarship program, his limited public statements on the issue have leaned toward opposing it, citing a lack of federal guidance on program “rules” and the potential reduction of “state and federal” funding for schools. The Governor’s “concerns” are red herrings. First, Illinois recently had a scholarship program, the Illinois Invest in Kids Tax Act scholarship, which Illinois democrats allowed to expire at the end of 2023. The federal Scholarship Program mirrors the defunct Invest In Kids act, so the lack of rules or guidance cited by the governor is not beyond the realm of comprehension or projection.
As of yesterday, twenty-six states have opted into the federal scholarship program, with Florida being the most recent state to opt-in.
Florida’s Commissioner of Education, Anastasios Kamoutsas wrote, “Today’s announcement that Florida will opt-in to the federal tax credit scholarship program will build on our momentum and further strengthen our already robust school choice landscape.” As a deep red state, Florida’s decision to opt-in to the scholarship program was anticipated, however, the decision to opt-in need not be political. As an example, the democrat governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, stated “It supports donors to give more money to our schools. I mean, I would be crazy not to.” He also cited the decision to opt-in as a “no brainer.”
“No brainer” is right. Let your local legislator know you support opting in to the federal scholarship program. All Illinois taxpayers will have the option to participate in the federal tax credit program, but unless Illinois politicians affirmatively decide to opt-in, Illinois students will be denied the extra educational benefits of the program.
Jesse Rodriguez is a Republican candidate for Illinois House District 83
