School Choice YearbookSchool Choice Yearbook

20052005SCHOOL CHOICE LEGISLATION

INTRODUCED IN 2005

HI

38 States Introduced School Choice Bills

PASSED ONELEGISLATIVE HOUSE

2005 LEGISLATION PASSED

PASSED TWOLEGISLATIVE HOUSES

PA

NH

VA

OH

LA

MNWI

FL

UTNV

AZ

HI

11 States Made Progress

New School Choice Programs

Ohio’s new statewide educational choice scholarship

program, the largest in the country targeted to K-12 education

students in failing public schools, provides scholarships

to 14,000 children in public schools on academic watch or

academic emergency for three consecutive years. The students

could use the scholarships, which would range from $4,250 for

K-8 to $5,000 for grades 9-12, to attend the public or private

school of their choice.

Utah’s Carson Smith Scholarship for Students With Special

Needs Act authorizes the distribution of scholarships for

Utah’s special needs children to attend private schools. The

scholarship is equal to the amount the state earmarks for

disabled public school students and is based on the amount of

time a child receives special education services per day.

Improved Programs

NEW

EXPANDED

PROGRAMS PASSED / EXPANDED

PAOH

FL

21

1

11

1

UT

AZ1

1

MN

1

Arizona passed a bill eliminating marriage penalties

in tax credits that raised the minimum amount that

can be donated to a scholarship organization under

the individual tax credit program. Phasing in an

increase from $625 to $1,000 per couple.

In Florida, thousands of new students exercised

school choice with the corporate scholarship

tax credit program cap increase from $50 to $88

million. The dramatic enhancement nearly doubles

the current program that enables students to use

scholarships to attend private schools.

Minnesota enacted a modest expansion in the

value of the existing education tax credit and the

number of eligible families.

In Ohio, the improvement of the current Cleveland

Scholarship Program beginning this fall extends

eligibility to the 11th and 12th-grade students.

Programs Passed or Expanded This Year

continued on back

The most successful legislative year ever for school choice

AZ – – Expanded Scholarship Tax Credit

FL – – Expanded Corporate Scholarship Tax Credit

FL – – New Pre-Kindergarten Voucher Program

MN – – Expanded Education Tax Credit

OH – – New Educational Choice Scholarship Program

OH – – Expanded Cleveland Program

OH – – Extended Ohio Autism Program for two years

PA – – Expanded Education Improvement Tax Credit

PA – – New Accountability Standards

UT – – New Special Needs Scholarship Program

Scholarship amounts will be increased in

2006 from up to $3,000 for K-8, and $2,700

for high school to as much as $3,450 for all

students. New legislation also extended

the Ohio Autism Scholarship Program for

two more years and increased scholarship

amounts from $15,000 to $20,000.

Pennsylvania expanded its existing

Education Tax Credit Program with a $4

million increase, two-thirds of which

goes toward scholarships that increase

educational opportunities for more than

2,000 Pennsylvania schoolchildren. The

Legislature also approved reasonable

additional reporting requirements to

ensure accountability for scholarship,

educational improvement and pre-K

scholarship organizations involved with

the credit program.

32,495

73,00680,,55155

89,88594,763

104,083

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

Growth in Targeted School Choice Programs

Pre-K Vouchers Break Out2005 was a breakout year for the new trend of preschool vouchers

(continued from other side)

Alliance for School Choice 5080 N. 40th St., Suite 375, Phoenix, AZ 85018 AllianceForSchoolChoice.org

New Developments in 2005New Developments in 2005

8,034

1199,,88331125,253 26,749 29,590

130,858

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

Growth in Pre-K Programs

Katrina ReliefIn response to a natural

disaster, the federal

government overwhelmingly

and with bipartisan support,

approved and issued vouchers

to 150,000 displaced students.

The Alliance for School Choice

estimates that 14,000-18,000

vouchers were used in private

schools across the nation.

Also Noteworthy in 2005

Louisiana made history when the House passed the state’s fi rst

ever voucher bill, and the Virginia House, Nevada and

New Hampshire Senates passed school choice bills this year.

The fact that the bills progressed as far as they did is a testament

to the powerful momentum of the school choice movement.