Invest in Education Coalition – Federal School Choice Update – January 27, 2023 – SPECIAL NATIONAL SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK EDITION
America’s Boldest School Choice Bill Reintroduced in the New Congress
The Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), the leading school choice bill in the U.S. Congress that expands educational freedom to all 50 states through a federal tax credit scholarship, continues to build support after voters sent a new generation of school choice champions to Capitol Hill for the new congressional session.
Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the lead sponsor for the ECCA in the U.S. Senate, and Representative Adrian Smith (R-NE), the lead House sponsor for the ECCA, yesterday officially reintroduced the legislation in their respective chambers. Senator Cassidy and Congressman Smith are senior members of Congress’ tax-writing committees. In the previous Congress, which concluded at the end of 2022, the ECCA attracted more co-sponsors than any other school choice bill introduced during that session.
More detail on the reintroduction of the ECCA from Sen. Cassidy here and Rep. Smith here.
The new Republican majority in the U.S. House includes an unprecedented commitment by the House Republican leadership to expanding parental choice in education to all 50 states. House Republican Education Committee leaders this past August listed the ECCA as their top legislative priority on their education policy agenda, and the House Republican Conference specifically promised expansion of school choice in its “Commitment to America” campaign document.
We need your support for America’s boldest school choice bill, and here’s how you can help today: contact your Members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor the ECCA, promote the bill in your organizational communications and publications, and, if you haven’t already done so, join our coalition and recruit others to join the Invest in Education team.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy Rallies with Students and Parents for National School Choice Week at US Capitol
This week Invest in Education hosted a National School Choice Week rally in the U.S. Capitol with the Congressional School Choice Caucus, led by Co-Chairs Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI). Hundreds of students, parents and allies heard from school choice alumni and current students, as well as the House and Senate supporters of the Educational Choice for Children Act. The rally closed with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy thanking students and parents and reiterating the pledge in the Commitment to America to expand school choice to more than million students across the nation.
Check out this great photo from the event:
And this brief, inspiring video from Senator Tim Scott:
Tim Scott on Twitter: “Education is the greatest civil rights issue of our time”
House Education Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx Declares ECCA a Top Legislative Priority
After being named to return as House Education & Workforce Committee Chair, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), a steadfast champion of school choice, declared that the Educational Choice for Children Act will be a leading priority for the Republican majority in the new session:
Empower parents to be educational entrepreneurs – Washington Times
ECCA Featured in Newsweek
With this year’s National School Choice Week marking record progress for school choice in recent months, Newsweek published an opinion feature with Invest in Education President Luke Messer and Nate Benefield of Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Foundation making the case for passing the ECCA to expand school choice nationwide in response to the outpouring of demand from America’s families:
States Can Expand Educational Freedom Through Federal Tax Credit | Opinion (newsweek.com)
ECCA Gains New Coalition Endorsements
Since our most recent update, several new national and state-level advocacy organizations have joined the Invest in Education Coalition with endorsements of the ECCA:
- Orthodox Union Advocacy Center
- ACSI Children’s Education Fund (ACEF)
- Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund
- Parents Challenge (Colorado)
- The Schuck Initiatives Foundation (Colorado)
- LA Kids Matter (Louisiana)
- Partnership Schools (New York and Ohio)
- Pennsylvania Families for Education Choice
These new coalition members join the growing national coalition in support of the ECCA that includes the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Catholic Education (USCCB), Agudath Israel of America, Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Heritage Action for America, American Federation for Children (AFC), Former US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, former US Attorney General William Barr, Excel in Education, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), and CatholicVote.
Join the Invest in Education Coalition Today!
Please take a moment today to join our coalition in support of the Educational Choice for Children Act! Visit our coalition signup page to add your organization’s endorsement, and forward to others who strongly support educational choice:
Coalition Signup – Invest In Education Foundation
About the ECCA
This legislation entitled the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) would expand K-12 education freedom and opportunity for as many as two million or more children throughout the nation. It would do so through the incentive of a federal tax credit for individuals and businesses to fund scholarship awards for students to cover various expenses related to K-12 public and private education, including tuition and other supplemental supports. Available credits would amount to $10 billion on an annual basis.
On behalf of Invest in Education Coalition President Luke Messer and the Invest in Education Coalition team, thank you for your interest in and support of expanding educational choice for families and children to every state in America! As always, if you have any questions about the ECCA or Invest in Education Coalition, please call upon us at any time.
Best wishes,
Greg Brock
Invest in Education Coalition
