Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee voted this week to include a four-year $20 billion federal school voucher program in a broader bill also extending tax cuts. While some states, such as Georgia, have already implemented a similar program to assist families in paying for private school, this is the first nationwide proposal.
The funding for these vouchers would come from individual donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations in exchange for dollar-for-dollar tax write-offs. Currently, the household income limit is planned as 300% of an area’s median gross income, removing targets for low-income students.