Legislators have yet to address extending Illinois' school choice
program
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[November 08, 2023]
By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Despite hundreds of parents and children chanting
for the Invest in Kids extension to be called for a vote, Illinois
Democrats have yet to do so.
The school choice scholarship tax credit program will expire on Dec. 31
if lawmakers don’t pass an extension this week.
Republicans have been pleading for the legislation to extend the program
to be called for a vote. From the House floor Tuesday, State Rep. Dan
Ugaste, R-Geneva, called on his fellow lawmakers to do the right thing.
“All of you get to decide, let’s remove this sunset,” Ugaste said. “It’s
solely about providing children with a quality education. It’s about
their future.”
Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said Republicans
would accept the changes proposed by Democrats.
“It does shrink it but it continues it and we support that compromise
and we support the movement to continue this program going forward,”
Curran said during a Tuesday news conference.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Nov/08/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png)
The current program allows for private donations to get a 75% Illinois
income tax credit to fund school choice for eligible families under a
certain income threshold. The Democrats' scaled back version would cap
the program at $50 million from the current $75 million, and would cut
in half the largest possible donation to $500,000.
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![](../images/110823PIX/news_d8.jpg)
Families demonstrate at the Illinois State Capitol in front of
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch's office in support of
the Invest in Kids school choice scholarship program - Greg Bishop /
The Center Square
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
“For six years, the State of Illinois has been refunding donors to
this program up to 75 percent of what they gave. It’s a flawed
program and it puts the state into a precarious position of funding
private schools while continuing to underfund 80% of public
schools,” Illinois Education Association president Al Llorens in a
said statement.
Illinois teachers unions have made it clear they want to see the
program come to an end. According to Illinois Policy, the unions
have funneled more than $21 million to lawmakers who will make the
decision, with nearly $1.5 million coming since June 1.
In the 2022-2023 school year, 9,656 students received Invest in Kids
scholarships to attend the school of their choice. Since the program
launched in 2018, nearly 41,000 scholarships have been awarded.
“The truth is our most vulnerable students would be affected by the
loss of the program,” said Roni Facen, principal of St. Francis de
Sales High School. “I know, because I was just like them, sitting in
some of the same desks at the exact same high school with a similar
life-changing scholarship.”
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