COMMENTARY: It’s time to take school choice to every state

Policymakers continue to debate the future of education amid dismal results, but parents are done waiting. Across 32 states — including 17 where all families may apply — they have demanded and won school choice for their kids.

Finally, a path to educational freedom will be opened in every state, thanks to the federal scholarship tax credit passed as part of last July’s reconciliation bill.

Last week was School Choice Week. During the observance, the American Federation for Children, the nation’s largest school choice organization, announced the launch of a new scholarship-granting organization, the AFC Scholarship Fund, in partnership with Odyssey, the largest operator of multistate education savings account programs.

Here’s why it’s so important to act now.

Many Americans are aware of the “Trump Accounts” that will allow for direct contributions to children’s accounts. Another hidden policy mechanism in the bill will generate massive school-choice funding if Americans know about the opportunity.

Starting in 2027, individuals can contribute up to $1,700 to a 501(c)(3) scholarship-granting organization and receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction in their federal income tax liability. This could, theoretically, bring billions of dollars off the sidelines to expand school choice and fund K-12 education, but it won’t be easy.

Because of last-minute parliamentary hurdles, more fights remain. Governors must opt their states in, as 20 Republicans — including Nevada’s Joe Lombardo — and one Democrat have done. The $1,700 tax-credit contribution limit is a far cry from the levels contributors give in most state-level tax credit programs.

School choice works. The opportunity to bring it nationally must work as well.

It must raise billions of dollars annually and help hundreds of thousands of students get access to a better education. Ideally, all 50 states must have this opportunity. The process for donors, parents and schools must be simple and transparent.

The American Federation for Children has deployed $135 million in the past five years to expand 80 school-choice laws in 30 states. As of this year, Odyssey is the largest operator of education savings account programs in the country, annually letting families control more than $1.6 billion in funding for their children. This capacity will now focus on our movement’s greatest challenge and opportunity yet.

We’ve already raised eight figures in initial contributions to fund the national awareness campaign, but the real work is just beginning.

This new organization must serve as many kids in need as possible, as quickly as possible, ensuring the new national map has no gaps. It will also be designed to let other existing scholarship organizations tap into its national platform so that they can scale their own operations — and scholarship fundraising — effectively.

It is hoped our efforts will save local schools and scholarship teams countless hours, as well as significant capital that they would otherwise need to raise and deploy, redirecting efforts where they belong: to families in need.

The first national school-choice law is a hard-won victory and a moment of immense opportunity, and the success of this law is critical. A limited program, serving a small number of students, is susceptible to political winds.

Unions would love to kill this opportunity for millions of kids, to make sure nothing like it ever happens again. That’s why we’re embarking on this venture on behalf of the entire education reform movement. We aim to raise — and help other scholarship groups raise — billions in tax-credited contributions annually to serve the students who need it most.

Numerous existing scholarship-granting organizations serve hundreds of thousands of students. We are not competing with or displacing existing such organizations; we are creating the capacity to scale up quickly enough to meet the moment.

Policy windows such as this do not stay open forever. If this credit is poorly implemented, underutilized or made politically vulnerable, families will lose. If it is executed well and eliminates the possibility of fraud and operates with the transparency taxpayers deserve, it can become one of the most transformative education reforms in history. Strong support from investors so far gives the school-choice movement the launchpad to operate at the scale that’s needed.

America’s education future is being written now. We will ensure the story is one of success for the students who need it most.

Tommy Schultz is the CEO of the American Federation for Children. Joseph Connor is the founder and CEO of Odyssey. They wrote this for InsideSources.com.