After more than two years as Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos has finally launched a major proposal to encourage school choice from the federal level. Introduced last week by DeVos, along with Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Education Freedom Scholarships (EFS) would provide $5 billion in dollar-for-dollar federal tax credits to individuals and businesses who contribute to state-approved scholarship granting organizations (SGOs).
To be sure, this is an unapologetic federal effort to promote school choice. However, the proposal doesn't take the form most might expect. It wouldn't involve vouchers, divert money away from public schools, or create any new federal program. While a tax credit may seem like a convoluted approach, it is thoughtfully designed to avoid substantive critiques from the left and right and still substantially bolster school choice.
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