Editorial

Time Is Now for Parental Choice in Education

Posted

The Parental Choice in Education Act, which would provide state income tax credits to help non-public schools, including religious schools, has the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state Senate and more than 140 business, labor and civic and religious organizations.

Cardinal Dolan is leading the charge in the archdiocese, making a powerful case in favor of the bill as a way to help Catholic schools continue offering a first-class education to children who may not otherwise receive it.

Now, a new poll shows that a majority of New Yorkers, too, support the provisions outlined in the bill.

The Quinnipiac statewide poll released last week found that 66 percent of those polled support giving $500 tax credits to moderate- and low-income families whose children attend private and parochial schools, and 55 percent approve of giving the credits to individuals and companies who donate to non-public school scholarship funds.

The support came from Republicans, Democrats and independent voters, and got majority backing in all regions of the state.

With that kind of encouragement, and with Gov. Cuomo making a big push for the bill as the legislative session winds to a close, its passage should be a piece of cake. Right?

Not exactly.

A strong campaign against parental choice by the powerful state teachers unions—who object to helping non-public schools—has kept the state Assembly and its Democratic majority from approving this very reasonable bill and others like it in previous years.

But in a state that is spending $58 billion a year on education, of which 80 percent goes to public school teachers’ salaries and benefits, the $150 million education tax credit is barely a drop in the bucket.

Yet even that relatively modest sum has the potential to provide quality education and opportunities to succeed for children in high-poverty areas where public schools are struggling.

Indeed, far from being a boon to wealthy families whose children go to fancy private schools, the tax credit for families is capped at $500 a year and available only to those with incomes of $60,000 or less. And the tax credits for other individuals and corporations would not benefit the families of hedge-fund millionaires, but rather would support scholarship funds for low-income students.

Even public school teachers could benefit, with a $200 tax credit for those who spend their own money on supplies for the classroom—which happens more often than it should, as many teachers can attest.

For all of these reasons, we urge the new Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to reaffirm his support for this bill. (He originally was listed as a sponsor, but when he became Speaker earlier this year he removed his name from that and all bills he had co-sponsored.) And we call on the entire Assembly chamber to finally listen to New York’s voters and get on board to pass it.

As Cardinal Dolan wrote in a recent Op-Ed article, “The plan devotes resources in a smart way to help advance educational and economic justice. It strengthens our society by creating opportunity for those who might not otherwise have it.”

The time has come.