February 13, 2009
Indiana General Assembly considers expanding educational choice for parents
By BRIGID CURTIS AYER (Indiana Catholic Conference)
Parental choice in education, a privilege that is accessible most typically for higher income families or for those families who make big sacrifices to send their children to a non-public school, may be expanded if freshman Sen. Carlin Yoder (R-Middlebury) has his way. More families could gain access to this desirable educational option under a scholarship tax credit proposal that he is offering this year.
Yoder’s proposal, a scholarship tax credit bill, SB 528, would offer a 50 percent tax credit incentive to corporations or individuals for donations made to qualified Scholarship Gran-ting Organizations (SGOs). These SGOs would then provide grants to lower income families for the purpose of school tuition or other school related costs, at a public or private school of the parents’ choice.
Yoder, who works as a school administrator at Clinton Christian School, in Goshen, Ind., said, “On a daily to weekly basis people are calling in who want to enroll in our school but simply can’t afford it.” Yoder said his school is getting a lot of inquiries from lower income families because for one reason or another the public school is not working for them. “These families want to find out what alternatives they have,” he said. “The problem is they can’t afford to do anything. That’s what’s really concerning to me,” he said. This is not a slam on public schools, but for some students, they just need another option.
“Let’s say you have a kid that’s being bullied in school. This happens every once in a while, but to have to tell those parents that you can’t afford any options and that their kid is just going to have to stick it out and put up with that kind of treatment is a shame,” said Yoder. “Public schools just aren’t for everyone. I think the state of Indiana needs to step up and acknowledge that they need to work to provide other options to families that need them.”
Limitations in the area of special services to students is another reason parents need a private school option. “Students do not always get the help that they need in public schools,” said Yoder. “It’s not necessarily the public school’s fault, they just can’t reach everyone, but the student is not getting the help he or she needs.”
Some students who need additional help learning must go through an evaluation process to determine if they qualify for special services. “If they do not qualify for special services for whatever reason, then they are unable to get help,” said Yoder. “In a private school, we are not bound by the same regulations and can provide help to students in circumstances where the public school would not be able to.
“Public schools tend to view this [proposal] as threatening to them, but it shouldn’t be in my opinion because the kids that are doing well in a public school and are enjoying it aren’t going to leave the public school. They like it there. The private schools are there for the kids that are struggling in the public schools or aren’t finding what they need there and are desperate for other options.
“This is important legislation starting down that path to more options for families. I think this could be a good marriage between public schools and private schools to find out what’s best for our students and work together to provide that,” said Yoder.
Glenn Tebbe, executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference said, “Children of lower income families are often times precisely the children who need educational alternatives the most in order to achieve success in school especially if the school they currently attend is not meeting their educational needs. Yet without adequate financial re-sources, these education opportunities are inaccessible to them,” said Tebbe.
According to data collected by the School Choice Indiana Network, the national trend in educational choice policy has moved away from a voucher system toward tax credits. Eleven states currently have scholarship tax credit programs in place.
Currently in Indiana there is only one scholarship granting organization in operation, the Choice Charitable Trust in Indianapolis. This group awards scholarships to families to use for one of 60 participating schools in and around central Indiana.
SB 528 was scheduled to be heard in the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee on Feb. 10. The Senate panel is chaired by Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Monticello), who supports the measure. The bill is expected to pass the Senate panel and move to second reading on the Senate floor where it may be amended. Bills on second reading are passed by a voice vote. Bills on third reading receive a roll call vote.