Alliance for School Choice News
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist Signs $30 Million Expansion to School Choice Program
6,000 Low Income Kids Stand to Benefit
Bipartisan Momentum for School Choice Movement Growing
WASHINGTON, July 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Florida Governor Charlie Crist this week signed into law a sweeping $30 million expansion of the state's popular Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, opening the doors of educational opportunity to an estimated 6,000 additional low-income children.
The Alliance for School Choice - the nation's largest nonprofit organization promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs - hailed Governor Crist's action and praised his commitment to providing a quality education for all Florida children. Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program is the largest program of its kind, and the Sunshine State has provided more children with enhanced educational opportunities than any other state in the nation.
The expansion adds an additional $30 million to the state's $88 million scholarship tax credit program. The program allows corporations to donate money to Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFOs) and receive a 100 percent tax credit for their contribution. Corporations can donate up to 75 percent of their total state income tax liability.
As a result of the program, which was implemented in 2001, an approximate 19,416 students received scholarships to attend private schools during the 2007-2008 school year.
The increase will provide much-needed assistance to low-income families. According to the Florida-based organization Step Up for Students, which administers the program, more than 10,000 families that applied for scholarships last year were unable to receive scholarships because of the funding cap.
"The expansion of this important program also demonstrates that school choice is truly a bipartisan issue," said Lori Drummer, director of state projects for the Alliance. "The majority of the Legislative Black Caucus voted for the bill, and every member of the Hispanic Caucus voted for its passage. In the House, 40 percent of Democratic legislators voted for it."
In 2001, when the program was introduced, only one Democratic senator and no House Democrats voted for the program. Since then, times have changed, and school choice has gained significant momentum among Democrats and Republicans.
Last year, former U.S. Representative Carrie Meek - a Democrat who formerly opposed school choice - embraced the program. Now, her Carrie Meek Foundation is one of three authorized SFOs in the state.
Four other states - Arizona, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island - offer scholarship tax credit programs. Earlier this year, Georgia became the fifth state to enact such a program.
Facts about Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program
— A 2007 study by the Florida-based Collins Center for Public Policy demonstrated that the program has saved the state $150 million since 2002.
— The average household income of families with students in the program is $24,000 for a family of four.
— 40 percent of scholarship recipients are African American, and 30 percent are Hispanic.
The Alliance for School Choice is the nation's largest nonprofit organization promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs. www.AllianceForSchoolChoice.org
SOURCE Alliance for School Choice
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