School Choice FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About the School Choice Scholarship Act
By Jason Bedrick
In the last decade, eight states have launched scholarship tax credit (STC) programs to expand educational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of students across America, particularly those from low- and middle-income families. These programs provide tax credits to businesses that donate to state-approved, non-profit scholarship organizations (SOs). The SOs use the funds to grant scholarships to families seeking alternatives to their geographically-assigned public schools, including non-public, homeschooling, and out-of-district public schools.
This paper addresses Frequently Asked Questions about scholarship tax credit programs in general and the proposed New Hampshire scholarship tax credit legislation, SB 372, as amended in House Ways and Means, in particular. There is an equivalent House Bill (HB 1607) that passed in the House and has also passed the Senate 17-7. The latest amendments to each bill will bring them into sync.
School choice has been on the table for years in NH, especially when told by the Supreme court how the NH legislature must fund education. I have always thought that school vouchers would be the perfect solution and great way to fund education and give people a real choice. The STC program is another solution with the same benefits, However, by the time NH does anything about it, the same kids that were educated by our tax inflated, bureaucratic educational system, will be serving in the NH legislature, paying inflated taxes, realizing no one can afford to serve in the NH Legislature long enough to make any real changes. Let’s choose some leaders in NH that aren’t afraid of change and will put that as a priority in their campaign message to NH.