Benefits of School Choice and the Education Tax Credit Scholarship By Preston McSwain

Introduction• Massachusetts resident Preston McSwain serves as

the president of SJM Fiduciary Advisors in Boston. Also a member of the Pioneer Institute, an organization that helps shape school reform, Preston McSwain heads the finance committee. In particular, he finds interest in the institute’s research affecting charter schools.

From 2012 to 2013, Massachusetts introduced nine new charter schools, which brought the total up to 83 institutions in the state. Unfortunately, the feasibility of attending a charter school is often determined by location and accessible income.

Benefits of School Choice• However, opportunities, like the education tax credit

scholarship program makes it possible for more children to obtain a quality education.

Adopted by only 14 states as of 2014, the program, which covers tuition, currently impacts an estimated 190,000 students, who live in states promoting school choice. School choice allows parents to select a preferred educational institution for their child to earn his or her education. As such, the education tax credit scholarship program, in conjunction with the school choice movement, helps children gain access to excellent curricula, no matter a family’s ability to pay for tuition or residential location.