Are Democratic governors playing politics with education?
asserted
governors → play → education
What else explains a governor refusing to join a program that costs his state nothing, gives his students free scholarships, and pulls new money into the state for tutoring, textbooks, and special-needs services?
asserted
that → explain → tutoring
On Thursday, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued proposed regulations for the first national school freedom program.
asserted
Department → issue → program
It is a federal tax credit for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations, signed into law by President Donald Trump and championed for years by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
asserted
It → grant → Cruz
Twenty states, nearly all led by Democrats, have not opted in.
asserted
all → lead → Democrats
Their governors like federal involvement in education only when it arrives with strings attached and a one-size-fits-all mandate from Washington.
asserted
size → like → Washington
Offer them a federal tax credit program that empowers parents instead of bureaucrats, and they say no.
asserted
they → offer → parents
But children in those states deserve better than political posturing.
asserted
children → deserve → posturing
On the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 45% of high school seniors scored below basic in math and 32% below basic in reading.
asserted
% → score → reading
Twelfth-grade reading hit the lowest average in the exam’s history.
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reading → hit → history
A mother whose third-grader reads below grade level has heard all of this before.
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grader → read → this
She doesn’t need statistics.
asserted
She → need → statistics
She needs help.
asserted
She → need → help
That is where the new program comes in.
asserted
program → come → ?
Starting in 2027, any taxpayer can claim a dollar-for-dollar credit of up to $1,700 for contributions to a qualified scholarship organization in any participating state, regardless of where the donor lives.
uncertain
donor → start → state
Married couples filing jointly can claim $3,400.
uncertain
couples → file → 3,400
The Treasury Department estimates that by 2030, more than 11 million taxpayers could give nearly $26 billion a year, funding as many as 2.2 million scholarships annually.
uncertain
taxpayers → estimate → scholarships
Under the proposed rules and safe harbors, about 96% of children in participating states would be eligible.
asserted
% → propose → states
The Club for Growth submitted comments to the Treasury Department urging the regulations to recognize that the credit belongs to each individual taxpayer, with no marriage penalty.
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credit → submit → penalty
Thousands of our members filed comments in support.
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Thousands → file → support
We are glad the Treasury Department agreed.
asserted
Department → agree → ?
A married couple who each give $1,700 can claim the full $3,400 credit on their joint return.
uncertain
who → give → return
Congress wrote no marriage penalty into this law, and regulators didn’t invent one.
asserted
regulators → write → one
Critics call this a voucher scheme to drain public schools.
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Critics → call → schools
The program works even if a child never leaves the public school down the street.
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child → work → street
The Treasury Department’s own summary of qualified expenses includes academic tutoring, special-needs services, books, supplies, and computers.
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summary → include → tutoring
A public school parent can use a scholarship to hire an outside reading tutor or cover special needs services.
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parent → use → services
The child doesn’t change schools.
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child → change → schools
The district doesn’t lose a dollar.
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district → lose → dollar
The only thing that changes is who decides how the help is delivered.
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help → change → ?
Thirty states have already opted in.
asserted
states → opt → ?
Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) got there first among Democrats.
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Polis → get → Democrats
He called participation a “no-brainer” and said Colorado should go after donors in states that decline.
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that → call → states
Refusing the program ensures that money leaves the state.
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money → refuse → state
A donor in Chicago or Los Angeles can direct a $1,700 gift to a scholarship organization in Denver or Dallas, and the credit is just as good.
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credit → direct → Denver
Every year a governor stalls is a year the state’s taxpayers fund other states’ children.
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taxpayers → stall → children
The governors of Arizona and Wisconsin vetoed opt-in bills.
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governors → veto → bills
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) says she plans to opt in but hasn’t, and teachers unions are pressing her to reject it.
asserted
unions → say → it
It imposes no curriculum, no testing regime, no mandate on any district.
asserted
It → impose → district
It asks a governor to do one thing: certify the nonprofit organizations in the state that meet the federal criteria so that its own citizens can benefit.
asserted
citizens → ask → criteria
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
