Senators Marshall, Cassidy, Scott Lead Colleagues in Reintroduce Bill to Expand School Choice, Educational Opportunity

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Tim Scott (R-SC) led 19 Republican colleagues in introducing the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), bicameral legislation to expand education freedom and opportunity for students. Specifically, it provides a charitable donation incentive for individuals and businesses to fund scholarship awards for students to cover expenses related to K-12 public and private education. U.S. Representative Adrian Smith (R-NE-03) introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“I’m proud to join Senators Cassidy and Scott in fighting to expand education freedom and opportunity for American students,” said Senator Marshall. “Parents, not the government, know what is best for their children and should be empowered with the resources to ensure their children are getting the highest quality and best education possible.”

“Parents want to see their child succeed. Giving them the ability to make decisions over their child’s education puts that child’s needs first,” said Dr. Cassidy. “More freedom empowers parents and allows American children to thrive in school.”

“When you give parents a choice, you give kids a better chance at achieving their dreams,” said Senator Scott. “By empowering families with more education resources and freedom, this bill will unlock opportunities that have been out of reach for students across America who deserve every chance to succeed and a schooling system that fosters their potential.”

The Educational Choice for Children Act:

• Provides $10 billion in annual tax credits to be made available to taxpayers. Allotment of these credits to individuals would be administered by the Treasury Department.
• Sets a base amount for each state and then distributes the credits on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• Uses a limited government approach with respect to federalism, thus avoiding mandates on states, localities, and school districts.
• Includes provisions that govern Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs), as SGOs are given the ability to determine the individual amount of scholarship awards.

An estimated two million students in any elementary or secondary education setting, including homeschool, are eligible to receive a scholarship. Eligible use of scholarship awards includes tuition, fees, book supplies, and equipment for enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary school.