Susan Pendergrass speaks with Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, about how a new federal scholarship tax credit, created through the One Big Beautiful Bill, could transform K–12 education across the country. They discuss what this means for Missouri families, the legal threats facing the MOScholars program, how education policy is shifting nationally, and more.

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Timestamps

00:00 The Evolution of School Choice in Missouri
02:59 Charter Schools and Teacher Innovation
05:40 The Impact of Lawsuits on Educational Freedom
08:35 Federal Tax Credit Programs and Their Implications
11:19 The Future of School Choice and Parental Empowerment

Episode Transcript

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Susan Pendergrass (00:00):
Thank you so much for joining us on the Show-Me Institute podcast, Shaka Mitchell of AFC. But I think you wear a lot of hats. We’ll just do that hat for now. There have been a lot of changes in the last few years—certainly since the pandemic—regarding how kids end up at the school they attend, especially with parents now getting more opportunities to choose instead of just being assigned. I know you’ve been on the front lines of this, especially through your work with charter schools.

In Missouri, we’re sort of creeping into it. We have a scholarship program now that’s growing, and finally, like in so many other states, the legislature has decided to put some public funding toward it. And now it’s tied up with a lawsuit. Are you following what’s going on with Missouri’s scholarship program?

Shaka Mitchell (00:45):
Yeah, thanks Susan. Thanks for having me on. I sure am following it. I’ve been encouraged in recent years by the steps Missouri has taken to expand school choice. As you know, there had been a charter school law for years, but it was really limited—to Kansas City and St. Louis. That’s a lot of students, but still many others couldn’t access those schools.

Then you had the MOScholars program, which I bet we’ll talk about. On the one hand, there are some encouraging developments coming out of Missouri. And then, per usual, there are lawsuits. Because, in the words of the famous 20th-century philosopher Taylor Swift, haters gonna hate.

Susan Pendergrass (01:30):
That’s right.

Let’s go back to this charter school thing for a minute. Now, for the first time, a charter school can open anywhere in the state—but only if the school board is the sponsor. That happens all over the country, but in Missouri, no school board would even consider authorizing a charter school. Not running them, just authorizing them.

Now there’s one other county where they can open without the board as the sponsor. But there is such strong resistance to the idea of charter schools. Do you find that surprising in 2025?

Shaka Mitchell (02:06):
Yes and no. I’ve worked in charter schools and with several charter networks. I have lots of friends still working in that space. At the American Federation for Children, we’re school-type agnostic. We support parents’ ability to choose.

In some ways, it’s not surprising that school districts—which have in many places become jobs programs for adults—don’t want to disrupt the status quo. Budgets continue to increase, while enrollments decrease. So they’ve got fewer students per classroom, but more money per pupil.

They’ve got it pretty good in terms of job security. But I think what you’re getting at is important: there are great educators who want to do right by kids. And many of them are trapped within that system.

We’re seeing some start their own schools or move to other states or online programs. There’s a lot of innovation happening. But unfortunately, you mostly see the negative reaction from public school districts when it comes to innovation and choice.

Susan Pendergrass (03:42):
Yes, and what’s so tragic in Missouri is that we’ve shut the door on teachers as entrepreneurs. We have plenty of entrepreneurial teachers. Some of the strongest charter school networks were started by teachers who said, “I have a great idea, and I need to do this outside the regulations and bureaucracy.” Cutting off the teacher-as-entrepreneur option is tragic.

Shaka Mitchell (04:10):
Yeah, super tragic. One of my colleagues, Dr. Patrick Graff at AFC, has done work on teacher spending accounts—similar to ESAs.

It’s a great idea. Teachers often say their classrooms are under-resourced. Every parent knows it’s almost back-to-school season—we’re about to get a list of supplies.

Every time I get that list, I think, “Why haven’t we budgeted for enough glue or crayons?” Patrick’s idea is that teachers should have accounts to buy what they need. Surprise: teachers love it, and legislators do too.

But when you say, “Cool, it works for teachers—now let’s do it for parents,” suddenly it’s hair-on-fire. The education establishment just says no. It’s unfair.

Susan Pendergrass (05:19):
Yeah. Public funding for MOScholars in Missouri currently serves mostly low-income students and students with disabilities in Kansas City and St. Louis. That’s where the program started. It’s expanded a bit—but only through tax-credit fundraising, and the organizations have to ask for donations.

Now the lawsuit is basically saying those kids have to go back to their old schools. That we can’t publicly fund private schools for students. It’s saying, “You have to go back to the school that didn’t work for you.”

I know the teachers’ unions brought the lawsuit, and they often take on the PR risk of being on the wrong side of things—like trying to take scholarships away from kids. I don’t see how they can sit well with that.

Shaka Mitchell (06:20):
Yeah. I had the great fortune of meeting a parent in Missouri, Becky Ucello. Her daughter was able to attend a private school through the program. Becky is a public school teacher.

So the idea that private choice programs are anti–public school is a myth. Of course she wants the best for her students—and her own daughter, who has exceptional needs. The district school wasn’t working. Who among us wouldn’t want the best for our child?

The unions get this wrong every time. And they usually get defeated in court. I expect the same in Missouri. There’s strong federal and state case law supporting the idea that parents can choose and that funds given out in a non-discriminatory way can be used at religious schools—because the parent is making the choice, not the government.

Susan Pendergrass (07:47):
In addition to the lawsuit, there’s a potential initiative petition in Missouri to amend the constitution to say you can’t spend public funds at private institutions for students.

But we already have several higher ed programs that work like Pell Grants—you can take them to public or private colleges. We have Bright Flight. This petition might even cut off those programs, too.

And even when open enrollment comes up, it’s often the lowest-performing districts that say, “We can’t be part of it—we can’t let our kids leave.”

Shaka Mitchell (08:41):
It’s totally short-sighted. Nearly every district already outsources some of their special needs education to private providers. That petition could cut off even that.

It’s absurd. Districts don’t make their own computers, books, or desks. They purchase from private companies all the time. The idea that public education is this sacred, fully public institution is a fiction.

Susan Pendergrass (09:33):
Cisco trucks are in every school. Pearson brings the textbooks. Public education is filled with private corporations. And we’ve made so much progress nationally.

I’d love for you to explain the potential for federal scholarship expansion through tax credits. What is that new program, and how will it work?

Shaka Mitchell (10:09):
Sure. The federal scholarship tax credit passed as part of the One Big Bill earlier this year. It’s the first-ever federal K-12 tax credit program.

First, it’s a tax program—not from the Department of Education. So it’s not adding to federal bloat or undermining local control.

Any federal taxpayer can direct up to $1,700 of their tax liability to a scholarship granting organization—like the ones already in Missouri. So instead of sending it to the IRS, I could say, “Let’s send this to a scholarship org in Kansas City.”

Then, the organization can award scholarships to families, most of whom will qualify based on income. The families can use them for a range of educational expenses—just like ESAs. It’s really exciting.

Susan Pendergrass (12:09):
I’ve heard opponents call it a federal voucher—but it’s not a voucher, right?

Shaka Mitchell (12:18):
Correct. Think of it like when your tax return asks if you want to give a dollar to the presidential campaign. But now it’s $1,700 to a scholarship org.

In Missouri, we have Catholic, Hebrew, and non-sectarian scholarship organizations. You can choose which one to support.

Susan Pendergrass (12:59):
Do you know the total amount of available tax credits?

Shaka Mitchell (13:06):
It’s unlimited, within that $1,700 per-taxpayer cap. Initially, there were discussions of state-by-state limits, but now the limit is per individual—not by state.

Susan Pendergrass (13:34):
So governors have to opt in, right?

Shaka Mitchell (14:10):
Yes. Governors or other state officials need to opt in. That may look different state to state. Some legislatures, like North Carolina’s, have already voted to participate.

Susan Pendergrass (14:45):
Where does Missouri stand?

Shaka Mitchell (14:59):
Probably not much discussion yet. It doesn’t go into effect until 2027, so there’s time. But Missouri is in a good spot—you’ve already got scholarship organizations and experience with tax credit programs.

Susan Pendergrass (15:20):
What about blue states like Oregon or California?

Shaka Mitchell (15:27):
Great question. All eyes are on states like California, Pennsylvania, New York. There are a lot of taxpayers there.

Imagine millions of California taxpayers sending $1,700 each to scholarships in Missouri. It would be crazy for a governor to allow that much money to leave their state. But we’ll see.

Susan Pendergrass (16:13):
What do you think those states will do?

Shaka Mitchell (16:25):
Hard to say, but some Democratic governors have said they’re researching it. It’s not really a partisan issue—it’s just the tax code. And everyone pays taxes.

Susan Pendergrass (16:55):
It’s an interesting political move—making school choice national.

Shaka Mitchell (16:59):
Exactly. And because it’s tax-based, it reaches everyone—Republican, Democrat, or Independent.

Are states really going to let billions in scholarships go to other states? I doubt it.

Susan Pendergrass (17:45):
It’ll be interesting to see how private school supply responds. Like in Arizona, where more parents have access, vendors have stepped in with customized, creative options. This could fuel huge innovation. The fact that it’s unlimited in size is surprising.

Shaka Mitchell (18:43):
Yes. These federal scholarships could stack on top of state programs.

Say your state gives $6,000, but tuition is $9,000. The federal credit could close that gap. That’s a big deal.

Susan Pendergrass (19:38):
Will there be a lawsuit?

Shaka Mitchell (19:39):
There probably will be. Lawsuits are easy to file. But this program is part of the tax code—it’s hard to challenge. It’s not clear who would even have standing.

If unions want to burn money on a lawsuit, I say go ahead.

Susan Pendergrass (20:27):
I think what works against them is how happy families are with these scholarships. Satisfaction is high.

Shaka Mitchell (20:53):
Yes. Since 2019, we’ve seen an explosion of education freedom.

And there’s now long-term data—like from Ohio—showing EdChoice students, especially Black and brown students, have higher college attainment. That kind of data is compelling.

Susan Pendergrass (21:59):
And the ROI is incredible. You keep one kid out of prison or help one finish college—you’ve already saved more than the scholarship cost.

These families take $6,000 when the public system spends $18,000. They make it work. I’ve never seen anything in traditional public education with this much impact.

Shaka Mitchell (23:10):
It reminds me of the early 2000s with the excitement around No Child Left Behind.

But this is even more grassroots. Parents are organizing—helping each other on Facebook, answering questions, forming communities. That’s powerful. You can’t put that genie back in the bottle.

Susan Pendergrass (24:34):
Right. I don’t think we’ll go from more choice to less. And I know people who considered moving to Missouri until they realized they couldn’t pick their child’s school.

Kids from these programs are having their own kids now. It’s not going backward.

Shaka Mitchell (24:40):
Exactly.

There was a great article today in the New York Times saying, “The monopoly is dead.” I mean—from the New York Times!

Susan Pendergrass (25:21):
That’s what these lawsuits feel like: a desperate last gasp.

Never underestimate parents. They’ll show up. Thank you so much for joining us today. That was fascinating. I know you’ll be following the lawsuit.

Shaka Mitchell (25:59):
Happy to do it. Thanks for having me, Susan.

Susan Pendergrass (26:01):
Great, thanks.

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

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To date, the MOScholars program has been funded through private donations to scholarship-granting organizations, incentivized by tax credits. This infusion of public funding could triple the program’s reach. This is a pivotal step in putting parents back in the driver’s seat of their children’s education. Whether a student is better served by a private school, homeschooling, or specialized support services, MOScholars provides the flexibility to make those choices possible. While $50 million may be a baby step compared to Texas’s recent $1 billion committed to its scholarship program, it signals a commitment by the governor and the legislature to trust parents.

Critics may argue that public dollars should only go to traditional public schools, but the reality is that today’s students need a variety of options. This investment is not about dismantling public education; it’s about complementing it with solutions that work for every student. Parents know their children best. The MOScholars program respects that truth by offering real choices rather than a one-size-fits-all system. It ensures that fewer families are stuck in our lowest-performing schools. Missouri has joined a growing national movement—now seventeen states—that recognizes the importance of flexibility, innovation, and family empowerment in education.

The post Missouri Legislature Invests $50 Million in Families’ Futures Through MOScholars Program appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Visit treasurer.mo.gov for more information

The post How The Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program Works appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The best way to address this concern would be via an emergency tax-credit scholarship program. This tax-credit scholarship program could function much like a regular tax-credit scholarship program. Individuals and businesses donate to a scholarship-granting organization (SGO), and the SGO distributes the money to students who qualify based on the program requirements (the attached infographic has more detail on how the funding works). An emergency tax-credit scholarship could be awarded in cases such as the current pandemic, or in other cases such as natural disasters or even when individual families go through crisis.

Unfortunately, it seems very unlikely this type of program will pass this year. This is an important lesson about being proactive. If Missouri already had a tax-credit scholarship program, it would have been much easier to get kids the help they needed in a crisis. Instead, schools and districts are left scrambling to try and make something work without the resources required.

Tax-credit scholarships would help give families the ability to purchase the materials students need to keep learning even if it’s not in a traditional brick and mortar school. Lack of access to the internet or a computer are real barriers to learning for many students, but tax-credit scholarships could help fill that gap. Missouri can better prepare for unforeseen circumstances if only we would get a little creative.

The post How Can We Make Sure Missouri Students Can Still Learn? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The post House Bill 2068 and Tax-Credit Scholarships appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The program is called the Show Me a Brighter Future Scholarship Fund. The legislation would create a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for individuals and corporations that donate to a scholarship-granting organization. Qualifying students could then apply for the scholarships and use them toward private school tuition. SB 581 would allow for $25 million in tax credits. If the scholarship were fully funded at $25 million, that could mean roughly 7,100 students could receive $3,500 scholarships

Missouri would benefit from a tax-credit scholarship program. Previous research from Show-Me Institute authors has found that a tax-credit scholarship program in Missouri would save money for the state. Furthermore, there are seats open for over 28,000 students in Missouri private schools.

Eighteen other states currently have tax-credit scholarship programs, with almost 300,000 participating students as of August 2019. And even more are eager to participate. Over 8,000 students in Pennsylvania were turned away from one of the scholarship organizations because there were not enough scholarships available in 2017. When Illinois recently opened up applications for the 2020–21 school year for its scholarship program, nearly 25,000 students applied, which is more than four times as many students who are eligible to receive a scholarship.

Florida’s program has shown signs of success. A 2019 study of the program found that low-income students participating in the tax-credit scholarship program are more likely to enroll and graduate from college than those who didn’t participate in the program.

The Show Me a Brighter Future Scholarship Fund could help thousands of Missouri students access a quality private school. Private schools are a great option for many Missouri students, and a tax-credit scholarship program could help ensure that more families have that option.

The post Another Way to Create Options appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The Florida Tax-Credit (FTC) Scholarship program allows corporations to make donations to a scholarship funding organization, and then receive a credit toward their state taxes. Students must apply for the scholarship, and the organizations only distribute scholarships to applicants whose household incomes are no more than 185 percent above the federal poverty line. Students then use the scholarship to help pay for private school expenses. The FTC serves more than 100,000 students each year.

The Urban Institute study used data from the National Student Clearinghouse to track FTC students’ progress into college, comparing them to non-FTC public school students who share a similar background and test performance history. The study found that of the students who began FTC in elementary or middle school, 57 percent of FTC students enrolled in college compared to 51 percent of non-FTC students. Of the students who began FTC in high school, 64 percent of students enrolled in college compared to 54 percent of non-FTC students. FTC students were also 10 to 20 percent more likely to complete college and graduate with a bachelor’s degree. More impressive is that the longer students were enrolled in FTC, the larger the positive effects. This private school choice program is helping thousands of Florida students receive a quality education and has lasting benefits.

A private school tax-credit scholarship program is one aspect of a larger school choice agenda that is bringing about exciting results for Florida students. This success should encourage Missouri to implement a private-school choice option, and give our students a greater opportunity for success.

The post Private School Choice Students More Likely to Graduate College appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Illinois may adopt a tax-credit scholarship program this week as part of broader education funding reform. According to early reports, the program would be capped at $75 million in partial tax credits for those who donate towards private school scholarships.

While the plan still has to pass, there are some important lessons here for Missouri: Tax-credit scholarships can be bipartisan and they can help cash-strapped states. In fact, Mike McShane and Marty Lueken found that a tax-credit scholarship program potentially could save the state of Missouri up to $18 million per year. 

The post Could Illinois Be Missouri’s Role Model for School Choice? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Earlier this month a polling report released by EdChoice demonstrated that support for school choice policies is stronger among millennials than among older generations. When surveyed about charter schools, voucher programs, education savings accounts, and tax-credit scholarships, millennials’ support for these programs was the strongest of any age group. The table below breaks down generational support for four different school choice policies.

The margin of support for school choice grows even larger with millennial parents of school-age children. Over 70 percent of millennial parents support each of the four school choice programs.

It is not surprising that millennial parents support these policies so enthusiastically, considering that 61 percent of all millennial parents would choose a nontraditional public school for their child if they could.

Unfortunately, policy has not kept up with parental demand. Consider the following:

• 11 percent of parents would like to enroll their child in a charter school, but only 5 percent actually do so.
• 38 percent would like to enroll their children in private schools, but only 10 percent do so.
• 12 percent of families would like to homeschool their children, but only 3 percent of parents do so.

By contrast, even though traditional public schools are the first choice for only 30 percent of parents, 83 percent of parents send their children to public school.

Another interesting find in this report is the difference of opinion between white and nonwhite millennials. While both groups support school choice policies, nonwhite respondents held more favorable views of charter schools (69 percent compared to 60 percent of white millennials) and ESAs (65 percent versus 55 percent of whites). These results are especially relevant in light of the NAACP calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion recently, and the backlash from parents that followed.

Given that millennials are a growing portion of the adult population and make up most of the parents of school-age children, policymakers would be wise to listen to their opinions on education policy. Instead of limited educational opportunities, parents want to be empowered to provide their children with the best education possible through school choice. 

The post Millennials Love School Choice appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

 A lawsuit before the Florida Supreme Court potentially could oust over 92,000 students from private schools across the state. Despite lower court rulings that the plaintiffs had no legal standing, the Florida Education Association (FEA) continues to challenge Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) program run by Step Up for Students.

 FEA, Florida’s largest teachers union, and other groups filed the lawsuit claiming the program takes funding away from public schools and violates the state constitution by giving taxpayer money to religious schools. The district court ruled that the plaintiffs could not prove they had been harmed by the program because the FTC program concerns the state’s taxing power and not its appropriations.

 Step Up for Students, a state-approved non-profit organization, handed out nearly 100,000 scholarships for the 2016–2017 schoolyear. Along with administering the Gardiner Scholarship, which helped Malachi Kuhn and 5,843 other special needs students, Step Up for Students provided scholarships for a record 92,011 low-income students this year to attend private schools.  

 While the Gardiner Scholarship is funded from Florida’s state appropriations, the FTC program is completely funded by private donations. This tax credit, established in 2002, allows corporations to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for their donations to Step Up for Students. 

 The result? $2.2 billion donated and 572,237 scholarships funded in the past 14 years.

 While remaining optimistic, parents are getting ready to defend the program and the educational opportunity it creates for their children. For low-income families, the FTC program provides an alternative to the public schools that are in many cases failing to offer quality education.

 How does Florida’s FTC program relate to school choice in Missouri? If the Florida Supreme Court upholds the FTC program as constitutional, that ruling could bolster the case for any similar program in Missouri against possible constitutional challenges, opening the door of opportunity for tens of thousands of Missouri students. This summer, Marty Lueken and Mike McShane released an essay estimating that a tax credit-funded scholarship program in Missouri could provide over 12,000 scholarships and, contrary to the claims of groups like FEA, save the state and local districts around $8.3 million per year.

 The FTC program has made a tremendous impact on low-income and minority communities in Florida. Hopefully the program will be upheld in court and school choice programs will continue to spread throughout the nation. 

The post Another Misguided Legal Attack on School Choice appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

A few highlights:

1. 55% of Americans give their local public school an A or B grade, but only 25% of Americans give U.S. public schools as a whole an A or a B.
2. Without prompting, 61% of Americans think that we should spend more on public schooling. When given the actual amount that their local school spends, that drops to 45%.
3. Opinions on Common Core are evenly split, with 42% of Americans supporting it and 42% opposing.
4. 28% of Americans support teacher tenure, and 54% oppose it.
5. 69% of Americans support annual standardized testing of students

The first four findings didn’t really surprise me. The twin phenomena of liking your local school but disliking schools as a whole and thinking that your local school needs money until you’re told how much it spends have been documented by EdNext and others for years now.  The Common Core has been in freefall, so that wasn’t unexpected either.  Teacher tenure remains predictably unpopular.

I was surprised, though, at the durability of opinion on the value of standardized testing. Sixty-nine percent is strong support, and I would have thought with the unpopularity of the standards that many of the tests are based on that would have been a drag on opinion on the tests themselves. It looks like that isn’t the case!

What interested me most as a school choice advocate was public opinion about school choice issues.  The poll asked questions about charter schools, vouchers, and tuition tax credits, and the findings might surprise you.

On charters, overall public opinion is 51% pro and 28% against. When observed by party affiliation, we see Republicans more likely to support charters (60% Pro and 21% Against) than Democrats (45% Pro and 33% Against).

Vouchers are, on average, less popular than charter schools, but interestingly, enjoy more support from Democrats than Republicans. Overall opinion (for a universal voucher program that all students would be eligible for) is 45% pro and 44% against with Democrats splitting 49% pro and 39% against and Republicans splitting 41% pro and 49% against.  When the question is asked about a voucher program targeted to low-income students, the program becomes even less popular, with overall opinion 37% pro and 48% against (with Democrats 42% pro and 43% against, and Republicans 31% pro and 54% against).

Finally, and perhaps most interestingly for those of us in a state with a Blaine Amendment, tax credit scholarships were more popular than either vouchers or charter schools. Fifty-three percent of Americans support tax credits while only 29% oppose them. The partisan split remains though, with Democrats supporting more than Republicans. Democrats split 57% pro and 26% against while Republicans split 49% pro and 33% against.

It is always good to take the nation’s temperature on issues of schooling. School choice supporters in particular should take a moment to reflect on these findings. Perhaps supporters (and opponents) aren’t who we think they are. 

The post Democrats Like Vouchers More Than Republicans Do, and Other Findings from the 2016 Education Next Poll appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Time and again we see benefits from outsourcing public services to private companies. Yet, many fail to see how private school choice programs, such as vouchers or tax credit scholarships, could yield the same benefits. Indeed, the same principles apply to both situations

After my piece ran in the paper, I received an email from a former public school teacher who didn’t much care for what I had to say.  In his email, he asked me an important question: “What is the purpose of public education here in Missouri?”

In response, I had to ask him a question: Can you define public education for me?

Before we can begin to discuss the purpose of public education, we have to know what public education is. Our words have to have the same meaning. My suspicion is that the gentleman who emailed me would define public education as synonymous with public school districts. As I wrote in my piece “Redefining Public Education” a few years ago, that is not the case. School districts are not public education; they are a delivery method. Public education is simply an idea, that everyone has a right to an education financed at public expense. How we deliver that education can vary.

 A school choice system, in which parents get to direct public dollars to the school that they want their child to attend, is perfectly in line with this definition of public education.  

The post A Common Definition of Public Education appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Many public schools are unable to do all of this. To meet the needs of students, they often—to borrow a word from the business world—“outsource” jobs. Just like your paycheck gets printed by an outside company or your office is cleaned by an independent janitorial service, schools often hire a private company to manage the district’s bus services, to provide before- and after-school care, to cook children’s meals at lunch time, and to clean the buildings. Schools contract with outside healthcare professionals or private schools to meet the needs of students with special needs. A district can even contract with an outside management firm to run the school if they want. Some schools are even outsourcing who teaches your children, at least when they have a substitute teacher.

Filling all of the vacant classrooms when teachers are absent can be a challenge for school district officials. Some districts hire full-time aides who act as floating subs, filling in here and there as needed. Others employ a cadre of retired teachers, individuals looking to gain experience in the profession, or others simply looking for part-time work. The process of recruiting, hiring, and placing substitute teachers can be cumbersome. Rather than hire an assistant superintendent or other central office staff member to take on this responsibility, some schools have begun outsourcing this job to a private company.

In Saint Louis, for example, Kelly Educational Staffing provides this much-needed service to several school districts. As Dale Singer of St. Louis Public Radio reports, the privatization of substitute teachers has been a success. In Normandy, a district that has had many struggles in the past few years, “the rate of filling classrooms with substitutes had been in the 55–60 percent range”; with Kelly, “that figure rose to around 90 percent.”

Time and again we see benefits from outsourcing public services to private companies. Yet, many fail to see how private school choice programs, such as vouchers or tax credit scholarships, could yield the same benefits. Indeed, the same principles apply to both situations.

When a public school chooses to outsource services, they make a voluntary decision. Companies compete for their business and district administrators choose the company that they believe will best meet their specific needs. If the company fails to perform, the representatives of the school district can choose to take their business elsewhere. The same can be said for school choice. When parents have options, they are able to choose the school that will meet their needs. That’s the beautiful thing about a market—it allows people to voluntarily get the services they need.

We should celebrate when public schools find a way to better deliver public education by collaborating with the private sector. Similarly, we should celebrate when parents are given the ability to choose their child’s school.

While Missouri currently allows public schools to outsource just about everything, it does not extend that opportunity to parents. It is time for that to change. Parents should be given the opportunity, through vouchers or tax credit scholarships, to enter into the educational marketplace and contract with the school that is going to best meet their child’s needs. 

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We’ve been talking about scholarship tax credits here at the Show-Me Institute for some time now, but for those who might be new to the topic, such a program would give a tax credit to individuals or organizations that donate to a nonprofit that grants scholarships to K-12 students. That is to say that (with a 100% credit) if you owe the state of Missouri $1000 but you donate $1000 to a scholarship-granting organization, you would pay zero in state taxes. There are currently 21 tax credit scholarship programs in 17 states across the country educating almost 225,000 students.

We estimate a variety of results based on different assumptions about how many students might participate and how many scholarships would be offered, but the long and the short of it is that most likely such a program would save states and districts money.

How is this possible? It is actually pretty straightforward. As long as the value of the scholarship that students receive is less than what the state currently spends per student, the state will come out ahead. Given the structure and uptake rates of similar programs around the country, this is the most likely scenario for Missouri. Additionally, while districts would receive less funding from the state if children leave public schools to take advantage of scholarship opportunities, districts will also have fewer students to educate, which has the opportunity to have more money, per pupil, remain in district coffers.

Scholarship tax credits are controversial, but they really shouldn’t be. Structured appropriately, they can give students better options and save money at the same time. Families win, schools win, taxpayers win. It’s a slam dunk.

The post Tax Credit Scholarships Can Help Kids and Save Money appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

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The first modern voucher program was created in Wisconsin in 1989. Today, there are 24 different voucher programs.

Tax credit scholarships for private schools were first established by the Arizona Legislature in 1997. Now, there are 20 programs.

Arizona also established the first Education Savings Account (ESA) program in 2011. Now, five states have an ESA program, with Nevada recently passing the largest school choice bill to date.

Missouri has none of these programs. We’re even behind when it comes to public school choice. Charter schools were first established in 1992 in Minnesota. In 1998, Missouri became the 27th state to adopt charter schools. More than 15 years later, we’re still debating whether they should be able to operate outside of Saint Louis and Kansas City.

Technically, Missouri has only two forms of school choice: charter schools and interdistrict choice through city desegregation laws or district accreditation status. Even these programs have restrictive components, such as who is allowed to participate and where.

The News Tribune said, “Other options are gaining momentum, including education savings accounts, virtual schools and year-round schools.” They are right, school choice programs are “gaining momentum” in other states. In Missouri, they are not gaining momentum fast enough.

Missouri has yet to adopt even one of the available private school choice programs. An ESA bill received a hearing for the first time late this past legislative session.

The News Tribune wrote, “Parents tend to be more concerned about the specific quality of their children’s education than they are about public education in general.” Well, the editorial board did an excellent job of not being alarmist. It doesn’t alarm me at all that parents want what’s best for their kids.

What’s alarming is that the News Tribune seems to be more concerned about the public education system rather than whether or not all students receive a quality education within that system.

They questioned “whether changes—driven by technology, parents and advocates of student-centered learning—will outpace public education’s ability to adapt.” The answer is no, changes to the system will not outpace public education’s ability to adapt, because any time a parent is able to direct tax dollars toward a service that fits their child’s needs, that’s public education.

The post The News Tribune Gets School Choice Wrong appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

On Monday, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion on the Future of Education in Kansas City. This event is co-sponsored by the Federalist Society and the Show-Me Institute. Check out the details below and then come check out the event on Monday night.

Should your ZIP code determine your educational choices? Do charter schools improve academic outcomes? What do local public schools need to succeed? Should tax credit scholarships be used to help students attend private schools? Should residents in struggling public schools get to transfer to neighboring districts?

These topics and more will be explored as our panelists debate the future of education in and around Kansas City, Mo.

The panel will feature the following influencers in the local education landscape:

• James Shuls, Ph.D., distinguished fellow, Show-Me Institute, and Assistant Professor at University of Missouri–St. Louis
• Dr. Amy Hartsfield, member-at-large, School Board, Kansas City Public Schools
• Andrea Flinders, president, Kansas City Federation of Teachers, Local 691
• Douglas Thaman, Ed.D., executive director, Missouri Charter Public School Association
• John Murphy, public policy committee chair of the Missouri Catholic Conference

Admission is FREE, but please register so we can ensure there is enough seating. The event is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23, 2015, at the Kansas City Club, 918 Baltimore Ave., Kansas City, MO 64105.

The post The Future of Education in Kansas City appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

When it comes to school choice, the answers abound. Here are a few:

How do we improve educational options for students in unaccredited school districts? Allow charter schools to enroll students across district boundaries. This would give students whose needs are not being met, in unaccredited schools or otherwise, the opportunity to attend a charter school. It would also increase the likelihood that charter schools would open in unaccredited school districts.

How do we increase educational services for students with special needs? Emulate the education savings account programs created in Arizona and Florida. These programs provide the funds and flexibility that parents of special needs students need. The accounts function like a debit card that parents can use to pay school tuition, purchase educational resources, or pay for therapy.

How do we leverage greater private investment in education, expand options, and empower parents? Create a tax credit scholarship program. Seventeen tax credit scholarship programs exist. While the specific features vary from state to state, each program incentivizes individuals or businesses to support education, and they provide families with options. These programs empower parents to take charge of their child’s education and typically save taxpayers money.

Like I said, there are plenty of school choice answers. What we seem to lack in Missouri is school choice talk, especially among state policymakers. To date, not a single school choice bill has received a hearing in Jefferson City. Indeed, the “Equal Opportunity Scholarship” bill (a tax credit scholarship) seems to be collecting dust.

It’s time for Missouri lawmakers to have more conversations about school choice and hopefully take more action.

The post When Will Missouri Lawmakers Hear a School Choice Bill? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

If you could expand educational opportunities for students in failing schools by leveraging greater private investment in education, would you do it? Of course you would! This is exactly the idea behind the Equal Opportunity Scholarship idea (otherwise known as a tax credit scholarship).

The way it works is pretty simple. Taxpayers donate money to a scholarship organization. In exchange for their donation, they get a credit toward their taxes. Let’s say the credit is 75 percent. That would mean a donation of $1,000 to a scholarship organization would net a credit toward tax liabilities of $750. While the total taxes collected drops by $750, the total amount contributed goes up. The end result is greater private investment in education.

With the funds, the scholarship organizations provide tuition assistance for students who wish to attend high-quality private schools. More than a dozen states have similar programs. They are a proven method of increasing options for students. And they have the added benefit of saving taxpayers money. The Show-Me Institute has highlighted successful examples in Arizona, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

Over the next few months, Missouri lawmakers will bandy about ideas to “solve” the problem of unaccredited schools. Thus far, Equal Opportunity Scholarships are the only proactive idea that will expand options for Missouri students.

The post Equal Opportunity Scholarships-Giving Students Options appeared first on Show-Me Institute.