Public Money Finds Back Door to Private Schools

Jared Bernstein wrote Public Money/Private Schools…Don’t Let the Hulk See This about this New York Times article, Public Money Finds Back Door to Private Schools.

"The credit was allegedly set up to provide a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for those who wanted to contribute to a state scholarship fund so poor families could leave failing public schools and face a similar choice set to that of wealthier families. But, in fact, the legislation was intentionally crafted to enable parents whose kids already attended private school to keep the credit for themselves.

Since the tax credit only goes to families with kids in public school, in one part of the ruse in Georgia, a kid going to private school enrolls, but doesn’t attend, public school. The law was strategically written to differentiate between enrolling and attending."

"As you’d suspect if you’re at all familiar with horrible ideas like this at the state level, ALEC is a “big proponent” and this virus is spreading. There are now such programs operating in eight states across the country at a cost of $350 million to state coffers. They are paying for students to go to religious schools and for football scholarships."