March 27, 2009
The Church position
The Church supports school choice. Glenn Tebbe, Executive Director of the Indiana Catholic Conference said, “The Church has long been an advocate for the economically disadvantaged and promoting the common good of all. We recognize that lower income families often times have the fewest educational opportunities and in many instances are the group that needs them the most. Scholarship tax credits would provide access to a parochial education for low income families.”
The national trend
The national trend in educational choice policy has moved away from a voucher system toward educational tax credits administered through private, non-profit groups. Eleven states currently have scholarship tax credit programs in place and were passed with bipartisan support.
In 2008, support among Democrats for educational tax credits is growing. Democratic lawmakers from New Mexico, Louisiana, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland and the District of Columbia supported educational choice proposals.
For example, in Florida, the $30 million expansion of the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program was supported by a majority of African American legislators, all of the Hispanic legislators and one-third of the entire Democratic caucus in 2008. (Source: Alliance for School Choice)
Legislative Action Alert
Contact your lawmakers and urge them to support SB 528 the Scholarship Tax Credit bill.
Go to www.indianacc.org and click “Legislative Action Center” on the left side of the screen.
House of Representatives
(317) 232-9600 or (800) 382-9842
Senate
(317) 232-9400 or (800) 382-9467