Want to Help N.Y.'s Poor Families? Approve Tax Credits for High-Quality Private and Parochial Schooling

New York Gov. Cuomo’s $178 billion state budget proposal contains a lot of rhetoric about helping those students most in need, including “record funding for education.” More importantly, the budget, he says, “for the first time closes the funding disparities at the school district level.”

This is good. For far too long, school districts have lobbied for more state funds to help high-need students in the lowest-performing schools. But once they get the funds, the districts are, in the governor’s words, “not distributing more money to the poor schools than the rich schools.” He is right to call them out.

But the governor’s budget is silent on an initiative that he and others have supported in the past— tax credits for private-school scholarships. Yes, teachers’ unions and other progressive groups have traditionally shouted down such proposals. But during this National School Choice Week, it’s worth examining through a different lens.

New York’s 1,776 private K-12 schools, including independent, prep and religious-affiliated schools, have a track record of serving low-income and working-class youngsters well at lower cost than traditional public schools. Targeted public investment in these schools, through tax credits that go to private donors, could go directly to students in need without the interference of local school boards and their political constituencies.

More than 445,000 K-12 students in New York — about 14% of the total — attend private and religious schools. These schools serve large numbers of low-income and working-class children. According to Census data, more than half of the state’s private-school students live in areas where the median family income is less than $65,000 per year. Catholic schools alone serve close to 55,000 African-American and Hispanic students statewide.

These schools, long a mainstay of aspiring families across the state, are struggling financially. Since the introduction of free, publicly funded charter schools, families now have a second alternative to neighborhood public schools.

Private- and religious-school families face tuition charges, and the choice between free charter and district schools and tuition-charging schools can be difficult for families struggling with a budget. Fortunately, private philanthropy funded by generous community-minded New Yorkers has stepped into the breach.

In its 20 years of operation, the Children’s Scholarship Fund has provided over $789 million in partial scholarships to over 174,000 private-school students nationwide. In New York City, the fund has supported 33,000 students with $236 million in scholarships. Currently, 7,800 students are attending private schools in New York City with assistance from the fund. Their average family income is less than $35,000 per year.

Two aspects of the fund’s program are critical to its success. First, while all scholarship recipients are in economic need, the fund requires that their families cover a minimum of 25% of the tuition amount. This affirms that parents are full partners in their children’s education. Schools also help fill the gap by providing financial aid from sources other than the fund.

Second, the CSF assures quality education by screening participating schools to make sure that they give students the highest academic preparation for high school and eventually college. As CSF President Darla Romfo explains, “Fundamentally, we trust that parents are in the best position to choose the right school or other educational option for their children. And if parents are empowered with information and money, they will make the best choices for their child.”

The Children’s Scholarship Fund has commissioned numerous studies that document the positive educational impact that its activities are having on students from needy families — the same type of students that Cuomo is trying to get local public-school districts to invest in.

Eighteen states have adopted tuition tax-credit programs to support initiatives like this. Leaders in these states recognize that private and religious schools are an important part of the educational landscape, particularly for families of modest means.

These programs typically target the tax credit to programs serving lower-income youngsters and can include provisions to ensure that the participating schools are following state curriculum guidelines and participating in state testing programs. New York could follow suit and tailor such a program to safeguard the interests of taxpayers while also delivering measurable results for children.

Common wisdom has it that there is no chance for a tax-credit program with the Senate now in Democratic hands. But this might be the time for courageous leaders to polish their progressive bona fides by enacting a program that will directly benefit low-income children in a way that is cost-effective and meaningful.

It would start and end with Cuomo.

This piece originallly appeared at the New York Daily News

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Ray Domanico is the director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute.

This piece originally appeared in New York Daily News