According to The Epoch Times, the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts will take donations from taxpayers in exchange for a tax credit that can be claimed up to four years after the donation is made. These contributions will be handled by the Education Assistance Organization, a tax-exempt charity designed to handle this new bill's workload.
Walter Blanks, national press secretary for the American Federation for Children, says opponents often argue such programs drain funds from public schools.
"It's just not true," he retorts. "There's been multiple studies that show the fiscal impact that school choice has on district and state as a whole, and school choice saves the taxpayers money."
Blanks additionally points out that polling shows school choice is very popular with voters in The Show Me State.
"This year it's higher than it's ever been," he continues. "74% of voters want school choice, and so we're definitely heading in the right direction."
Taxpayers cannot determine who receives the scholarship, and paying in does not ensure that a specific child in question receives the scholarship. The program will most likely take effect during the 2022-2023 school year.
