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 The Invest in Kids Act of 2017
provides low-income Illinois families scholarship opportunities for their
children so they can attend schools that are best suited for their individual
needs. Scholarship money comes from businesses and individuals who donate to
scholarship-granting organizations. Donors receive a tax credit of 75 cents for
every dollar donated, up to $1 million.
According to the Chicago Tribune, 7,600 students received a scholarship through
the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program last school year.
Families such as the Clodfelters are one of the many success stories that come
from the program. Bose Clodfelter, mother of two, is a physical therapist in
Joliet, Illinois. Her son, Jordan, had issues with bullying at his public
school.
“Jordan was in public school for four years, and it wasn’t really a good
experience for him. There was a lot of bullying going on and a lot of
overcrowding in the classroom. Because of the larger-sized classroom, he wasn’t
given a lot of attention, and he didn’t excel really well,” Clodfelter said.
But she saw an all-around improvement once Jordan enrolled at St. Paul the
Apostle in Joliet, thanks to a tax credit scholarship.
“And immediately we saw the change in my son: his grades, his personality, just
everything improved.”
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According to an April
2021 poll, 61% of voters support Invest in Kids. In the same month,
Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed scaling back the program by $14 million,
reducing the tax credit from 75 cents on the dollar to 40 cents.
Lawmakers instead kept the program and extended it to Dec. 31, 2023.
One way to expand the number of families helped is by making the
Invest in Kids program permanent. The clock is ticking on the
program as currently structured.
“It’s very important
that politicians allow this tax credit to continue so my family can
have the opportunity to be a part of a school system where our
children and my family as a unit thrives,” Clodfelter said.
A common misconception is that the scholarship money is being
diverted from public schools. The money for the program does not
come out of Illinois’ education budget. Invest in Kids’ money comes
exclusively from donors.
The program doesn’t apply to pre-school, which is another
opportunity for the program to expand. Schools also need greater
flexibility to offer more partial scholarships.
Also, business donors should be allowed to designate specific
schools they want to help, as individual donors are already able to
do.
Empower Illinois, the largest organization that grants the
scholarships, reported in May 2021 that 26,000 kids are on the
waitlist for Invest in Kids scholarships, and that number could be
even higher now. Either way, the only way to meet demand is by
expanding the program.
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