The Kansas House of Representatives voted 55-66 against legislation that would establish a school choice program in Kansas geared towards low-income families.
Under the bill, individuals and corporations would be able to receive a tax credit for making donations to nonprofit scholarship organizations. The nonprofit scholarship organizations in turn would use the donated money to fund private school scholarships for students from low-income families.
The Kansas Catholic Conference supported this legislation.
Pope Benedict XVI has spoken of “the protection of the right of parents to educate their children” as being “not negotiable.” Yet too many parents are not empowered to choose their children’s education.
Most parents who opt for a Catholic education must resign themselves to paying tuition twice: once in taxes dedicated to public education and once in tuition for the Catholic school. This reality makes a Catholic education unattainable for many who would otherwise gladly take advantage of it.