Moments ago, two school choice bills were passed by the Arizona State Senate by a vote of 19-9-1.
Arizona’s robust school choice programs have been an undeniable success, opening the doors of educational opportunities to tens of thousands of families. Yet the need for scholarships for students to attend the school of their parents’ choice remains great, with thousands of students sitting on waiting lists.
SB 1047 and SB 1048, sponsored by Senator Rick Murphy, address this need by expanding Arizona’s scholarship tax credit program to allow individuals to receive an additional $500, or married couples an additional $1,000, dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to school tuition organizations.
Furthermore, the new tax credit has a positive fiscal impact on Arizona. The program guarantees a positive budget impact because the money must go to students who are switching from public schools to private schools. The average cost to taxpayers per student in a public school is over $8,500 while the average tax credit scholarship is around $2,000, providing much-needed cost savings to the state.
The bills now move onto the state House of Representatives. Track the progress of these and every CAP-supported bill on our Bill Tracker.
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