Voters get say on Illinois students benefitting from scholarships
Voters in 32 counties get to say whether they think the state should let public and private schoolchildren benefit from donated funds.
Residents in 32 Illinois counties will have an opportunity on the March 17 primary ballot to tell Gov. J.B. Pritzker whether they think the state’s students should benefit from the new federal tax credit being given for education donations.
Illinois students struggling to read or do math could in 2027 start receiving extra funding for tutoring and other academic services through the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program. It will give a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit up to $1,700 each year for donations to non-profit scholarship granting organizations. Homeschooled students and those in private and public schools could all benefit from the donations.
But they can only receive the funds if Pritzker let Illinois children join the program. He cannot stop taxpayers from receiving the federal tax credit for donating. He can deny Illinois children the benefit of those donors’ gifts, meaning children in other states will get the money.
The scholarships can be used for private school tuition or homeschool or public school educational services such as educational therapies for students with disabilities, tutoring, additional educational classes, books, online educational materials, fees for standardized or college admissions exams and fees for dual enrollment programs that allow high school students to earn college credit.
Because the list so broad, the program offers families a way to provide the academic support their children need without having to leave their local public school. If private school better meets the children’s needs, it helps their families with tuition. Homeschoolers can get help with course materials and other academic needs.
Nearly one-third of the state’s counties are giving their voters the chance to tell Pritzker whether Illinois children should benefit from the program. Voters in Cook County will only see the question if they live in Palos or Orland townships. Similarly, those in Lake County only get the ballot question in Cuba and Shields townships.
The question reads: “Should Illinois opt into a federal program that would provide public K-12, private school, and homeschool students with privately donated funds for academic needs, such as tutoring and test preparation, educational therapies for students with disabilities, tuition, books, exam fees or for other specified academic needs?”
What to know more? Here are some additional articles on the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program.
Illinois students could boost ACT scores with scholarships
4 myths about federal scholarship tax credit program
Federal scholarship could help rural Illinois students find education options
Can your family get federal school choice grants? Likely, if Pritzker OKs