America First Governors’ Council to Treasury: Don’t Leave Homeschoolers Behind

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Governors’ Council sent a letter to the Department of the Treasury, urging the department to clarify that American students in innovative learning models will be eligible for Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) scholarships.

The Governors’ Council celebrates Treasury’s swift implementation of the EFTC. However, they express concern that children in non-traditional settings could be shut out if eligibility relies on whether state law treats these alternative education options as “schools.” Many states do not currently give this status to homeschools, microschools, hybrid programs, and other innovative learning models. AFPI’s Governors’ Council notes that conditions imposed by Congress only require a student to be eligible to enroll in a public school.

“The public education system is designed to be one-size-fits-all, but that approach does not work for every child,” said Erika Donalds, Chair of Education Opportunity at AFPI. “A family shouldn’t lose access to the Education Freedom Tax Credit simply because the best learning environment for their child doesn’t look like a traditional classroom. Congress wrote this credit for students, not for systems or buildings.”

As of today, 30 states have formally opted in to the EFTC. Earlier this year, AFPI released an interactive calculator which shows how much funding and how many scholarships will be forfeited by the remaining states that are not yet participating.