The push for more funding of non-public school choices in Oklahoma got a whole new proposal this month.
But could House Republicans’ new idea of refundable education tax credits beat out Senate Republicans’ previously failed pitch for vouchers or “education savings accounts” to fund private school tuition and homeschooling costs?
Or is some compromise deal between the two possible?
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said, unequivocally, that his Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act has been proposed to put an end to any talk of vouchers or ESAs.
“The plan advanced through the House of Representatives is the only plan that will pass and is viable over the next two years,” McCall told the Tulsa World in an interview. “We do not see it as an alternative. We see it as the answer and the solution.”
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McCall has stood firm against vouchers because he says they simply “don’t work” for rural Oklahoma, where few private schools exist or thrive.
House Bill 1935, which next goes to the Senate, would make parents eligible to receive up to $5,000 in tax credit each year for a child enrolled in private school or up to $2,500 in tax credit each year for the costs of homeschooling a child.
It was part of a two-bill package with an $800 million price tag that McCall sold in the House by including a $500 million proposed boost to public education funding.
“With tax credits you have to ensure the money was spent with qualified expenses. We think this is a superior approach,” McCall said, before adding: “We also sent this package over to the Senate not with just a simple majority, but with 75 votes on one bill and 78 votes on the other — those are veto-proof votes — and well beyond the 68 required to mandate the law.”
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, failed in his attempt last session to send taxpayer dollars into “Oklahoma Empowerment Accounts” for parents to pay for private school tuition, books, computers, uniforms, tutoring or home school expenses or extracurricular activities.
Last summer, he suggested he could revive the idea in a new bill this year, but maybe limit it to the most populous counties where private school options exist or are more viable.
Treat told the Tulsa World on Saturday that he and other Senate members are “encouraged” by Speaker McCall’s education proposals but have many unanswered questions.
“Namely, how our priorities mesh with the House proposal,” he said. “Sen. (Adam) Pugh (R-Edmond, who serves as Senate education committee chair) worked tirelessly over the interim on measures that include paid maternity leave, targeted and meaningful teacher pay raises and other substantive reforms to improve Oklahoma’s education outcomes.
“All these discussions are important, need to be on the table, and will be our guiding principles in charting the best path forward for better education outcomes. We remain committed to working with our House counterparts and governor to ensure a better future for all Oklahoma children.”
Gov. Kevin Stitt and his secretary of education and State Superintendent Ryan Walters have both expressed optimism about the House plan.
Walters told the World on Thursday that he sees the House proposal as a “great addition” to the push for school choice he and Stitt both successfully campaigned on throughout 2022.
“I think that they (House leaders) have done a tremendous job in ensuring that the tax credit plan, that you could use it to attend a private school, functionally can work as a voucher, and it also applies to homeschool, which gives you the ESA component. I think they did a tremendous job of making sure that all students have all opportunities — no cap, no geographic limit,” Walters said. “I want universal school choice for every family around the state, and I want them to be able to choose not only private schools but homeschooling and that was all included here.”
He also added: “Sen. Pugh and Sen. Treat have been working really hard over there, as well, so I think we are going to have a tremendous package come out of this.”
The Tulsa World asked if the governor would still pursue vouchers or education savings accounts if the school choice tax credits in HB 1935 are adopted or, in other words, would he like to see the tax credits pass and then also have ESAs or vouchers to work in conjunction with the tax credits?
Carly Atchison, a Stitt spokeswoman, responded: “The governor supports ESAs and vouchers, but the answer to your question is: No. The governor supports using tax credits as the mechanism for providing parents with options for their child’s education.”
As speaker pro tem, Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, is the second-ranking member of the House and viewed at the Capitol as a possible successor to McCall, who is term-limited in 2024. His district includes western Tulsa County.
Asked whether a new voucher program could be added into the school choice mix two or three years down the road, Hilbert responded: “There’s no appetite in the Legislature for that. I don’t see that would ever be the case, personally.”
Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando, said he sees no path for a voucher bill to succeed in the rural-dominated House.
“This is the House education plan,” he said. “We decided the tax credits are the best way to go.”
On the other side of the aisle, House Democrats say they see little distinction between tax credits and vouchers, because they believe both will come at the expense of public schools where parents already enroll about 90% of all Oklahoma children.
“Regardless of what you call it, it does the exact same thing,” said Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, leader of the House Democrats, in a Thursday afternoon press conference.
Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, who is a former educator who currently serves in the No. 2 position in the House Democratic caucus, said she was surprised rural lawmakers in the House were willing to support tax credits because, “Whether it’s taking out funds further upstream, it’s still diverting funding from public education.”
Another former educator, Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, contends there is a distinct possibility that neither education tax credits nor any voucher schemes succeed during this session.
“The Senate wants to cut taxes, which would be hard after the House plan is enacted,” he told the Tulsa World on Friday. “There’s no effort at building consensus — and maybe that’s by design. That way they can make a lot of useful noise as a distraction.”
Staff writers Randy Krehbiel and Carmen Forman contributed to this story.
Tulsa World Staff Writer Andrea Eger talks with Editor Jason Collington about the efforts by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa to get state sponsorship and taxpayer funding for what would be the first religious charter school in the country. The pitch is before the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.
