The Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) has been much in the news lately.
How does EFTC work? Taxpayers can make a donation of up to $1,700 to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) which will disburse the funds to eligible children . The contribution is also a tax credit which reduces the donor’s tax liability commensurate with the size of the donation, up to $1,700 dollars.
While the idea sounds attractive, most of the discussion has centered around how EFTC will benefit private schools. While private schools can clearly benefit, public school advocates and leaders have been slow to understand how schools and school districts can also access such funding. According to the legislation, public schools can use FTCS dollars for “qualified elementary and secondary education expenses.” These include such expenses as tuition, fees and academic tutoring. Expenses for room and board, uniforms or transportation, or expenses for the purchase of any computer technology equipment or Internet-related services.
Public school leaders who want to learn more would do well to review two recent works. First, Alexander Russo writes on substack about how public school leaders have it all wrong: FTCS is a public school fundraising machine.
Also, the Edunomics Lab from Georgetown University provides a very helpful webinar on how school districts can tap funding via Education Freedom Tax Credits.
Learn more about the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship here and here
