Education Options in the States - US Department of Education

[Pages:50]U.S. Department of Education

Education Options in the States

State Programs That Provide Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private

Elementary or Secondary Schools

Education Options in the States

State Programs That Provide Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private Elementary or Secondary Schools

U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement

Office of Non-Public Education 2009

The content of this report does not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, curricula, and curricular materials and approaches, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government. This publication also contains Internet Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for information created and maintained by private organizations. This information is provided for the reader's convenience. The U.S. Department of Education is not responsible for controlling or guaranteeing the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of outside information mentioned in this report. Further, the inclusion of information or a URL does not reflect the importance of the organization, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered.

U.S. Department of Education Arne Duncan Secretary

Office of Innovation and Improvement Margo Anderson Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary, Delegated the Authority to Perform the Functions of the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement

Office of Non-Public Education Jack Klenk Director

February 2009

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Education Options in the States: State Programs That Provide Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private Elementary or Secondary Schools, Washington, D.C., 2009.

This report is available on the Department's Web site at: .

Contents

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iv List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... v Preface............................................................................................................................................ vi Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... vii Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 Overview of State Programs ........................................................................................................... 3 Descriptions of State Programs....................................................................................................... 7 Arizona...........................................................................................................7 Florida...........................................................................................................10 Georgia.........................................................................................................13 Illinois..........................................................................................................15 Iowa...............................................................................................................16 Louisiana........................................................................................................17 Maine..........................................................................................................19 Minnesota......................................................................................................21 Ohio.............................................................................................................22 Pennsylvania......................................................................................................25 Rhode Island..................................................................................................26 Utah................................................................................................................27 Vermont.......................................................................................................28 Wisconsin......................................................................................................29 District of Columbia.........................................................................................30 Appendix A: Statutes of State Programs Providing Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private Elementary and Secondary Schools ................................................................................. 32 Appendix B: Selected Web Resources Related to Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private Elementary and Secondary Schools.............................................................................................. 40

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Tables

Table 1. State Programs Providing Financial Assistance for Student Attendance at Private Elementary and Secondary Schools as of Dec. 31, 2008...............................................3

Table 2. Number of Participating Students and Average Amount of Assistance in Scholarship or Scholarship-like Tuition Assistance Programs by State, 2007?08 School Year..............................................................................4

Table 3. Scholarship Organizations and Scholarships Awarded in Tax Credits or Tax Deduction Programs for Individual or Corporate Contributions to Scholarship Organizations, 2007?08 School Year..............................................5

Table 4. Number of Claiming Taxpayers and Average Amount of Claim in Tax Credit or Deduction Programs for Education Expenses, 2006 Taxable Year.....................................................................6

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A.R.S CMSD D.C. Code Fla. Stat. ILCS IDEA IEP L.R.S. M.R.S. Minn. Stat. MPCP ORC Ann. P.S. SOs SFOs SGOs STOs SSOs RIGL Utah Code Ann. V.S.A. WSF Wis. Stat. Ann.

List of Abbreviations

Arizona Revised Statutes Cleveland Metropolitan School District District of Columbia Official Code Florida Statutes Illinois Compiled Statutes Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Individualized Education Program Louisiana Revised Statutes Maine Revised Statutes Minnesota Statutes Milwaukee Parental Choice Program Ohio Revised Code Annotated Pennsylvania Statutes Scholarship Organizations Scholarship Funding Organizations Scholarship Granting Organizations School Tuition Organizations Student Scholarship Organizations State of Rhode Island General Laws Utah Code Annotated Vermont Statutes Annotated Washington Scholarship Fund Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations

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Preface

In recent years, there has been an expansion of education options for parents to choose schools for their children. That is parents have many more opportunities than just a few years ago to choose from an array of public school options, including charter, virtual, and magnet schools. Parents also have access to an increasing number of state programs that provide financial support for their children to attend private schools, in the form of scholarship or scholarship-like tuition assistance, tax credit, and tax deduction programs. This report provides information on such programs. As of the end of calendar year 2008, 24 programs were in place in 14 states and the District of Columbia. This compares with 22 programs in 13 states and the District of Columbia in August 2007, and seven programs in seven states in 1997. Between August 2007 and December 2008, three new programs in two states (one in Georgia, two in Louisiana) were signed into law, and one program (in Utah) was repealed, for a net increase of two programs and one state. This report is an update of the August 2007 U.S. Department of Education publication, Education Options in the States: State Programs That Provide Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private Elementary or Secondary Schools. We trust it will be a useful reference for parents, educators, researchers, public officials, and others.

Margo Anderson Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary, Delegated the Authority to Perform the Functions of the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement U.S. Department of Education

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Acknowledgments

The Office of Non-Public Education in the Office of Innovation and Improvement within the U.S. Department of Education is pleased to provide this updated report on state programs that provide financial assistance for student attendance at private elementary and secondary schools. The information in this report was obtained primarily from state laws and regulations, official state documents, and Web sites of state education and revenue agencies; Erin McHugh, of the Office of Non-Public Education, edited this report. To the extent possible, state officials have confirmed information in this report. The Office of Non-Public Education is solely responsible for any errors or omissions.

Special thanks to the following individuals who have helpfully contributed to or reviewed drafts of this report:

Arizona Department of Education Doug Nick

Arizona Department of Revenue Georganna Meyer

Florida Department of Education Amy Graham Mike Kooi

Georgia Department of Education Jeff Gagne

Illinois State Board of Education Dr. Linda Tomlinson Patrick Murphy

Illinois Department of Revenue Debbie Best

Iowa Department of Education Angela Gullikson Michael Lipsman

Louisiana Department of Education Rashaunda Matthews

Maine Department of Education Karla Miller

Minnesota Department of Revenue; Rod Hoheisel Eric Johnson

Ohio Department of Education Kimberly Murnieks

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Ted Knorr

Rhode Island Department of Education Janet Durfee-Hidalgo

Rhode Island Division of Taxation Peter McVay

Rhode Island Scholarship Alliance Kate Nagle

Utah State Office of Education Travis Rawlings

Vermont Budget Office Vaughn Altemus

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Tricia Collins

Washington Scholarship Fund Jennifer Brown Sheldon Wallbrown

Jack Klenk

Director Office of Non-Public Education U.S. Department of Education

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