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CV NEWS FEED // The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee has approved a nationwide school choice bill for the first time in history, advancing the legislation to the House floor for consideration.
HR 9462 passed with a 23-16 vote, according to an X post from Corey DeAngelis, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children.
According to the bill’s webpage, HR 9462 aims “[t]o amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against tax for charitable donations to nonprofit organizations providing education scholarships to qualified elementary and secondary students.”
According to a September 11 press release from Congressman Adrian Smith, R-NE, HR 9462 was introduced by Smith and Rep. Burgess Owens, R-UT, in order to “expand education freedom and opportunity for students.”
Smith stated that the bill aims to transform the “educational landscape” for U.S. families by creating new funding for scholarships for “K-12 tuition and educational resources.”
“We have seen through the success of school choice initiatives across the country how empowering parents gives them – not the government – the freedom to decide where to send their children to school and to tailor their children’s education to their specific needs,” Smith said in the press release.
Committee Chair Jason Smith stated in the press release, “We have a responsibility to expand educational opportunities and parent choice for students trapped in schools that fail to help them succeed.”
Smith shared that over 365,000 students have already benefited from state-level programs, and that “this legislation will help bring that success to many more students in the future.”
