New Invest in Kids Bill to Attempt to Save Program
Former Governor Bruce Rauner signs an education reform bill in 2017 that established the “Invest in Kids” scholarship program. The program provides scholarships to private schools from charities. It is scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
Supporters of the Invest in Kids program are finalizing legislative language they hope could save the embattled scholarship program during the fall veto session.
The program is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, and supporters are feverishly working to convince legislative Democrats to reauthorize the initiative. But, Democrats have been less than enthusiastic to address the program over the objection of teachers unions, which have claimed the tax credit takes money away from public schools.
Invest in Kids doesn’t use traditional government vouchers to pay for public school, but instead allows non-profits to award scholarships for low-income kids to switch from a public to private school.
We’re told new legislation will be introduced in Springfield to reauthorize the program, but will include a “Disproportionately Impacted Area” to address more students in need. It will also create a new 7th region (scholarships are divvied up in six different regions currently), that exclusively supports students in a disproportionately impacted area.
“We’ve been carefully listening to lawmakers and hearing their suggestions and feedback for how to improve the Tax Credit Scholarship Program. In response, we are proposing the creation of a new priority category of scholarships exclusively for students who live in areas disproportionately impacted by poverty,” said Anthony Holter, president of Empower Illinois. “Further, our proposed amendment to the Invest in Kids Act will lessen the state’s liability for TCS tax credits while also attracting more low- and middle-income donors by incentivizing smaller donations. We believe these new ideas contain great potential to improve the program and encourage its extension for another five years.”
Legislative sources say the proposal has been met with “some interest” by House Speaker Chris Welch.