This year, thousands of Oklahoma families will become new investors in their children's education, with the ability to afford access to the best, highest-quality schools for their children. This is just the beginning of this exciting new trend in K-12 education, which can be further expanded to benefit more families across the state even faster.
Last year, thanks to the leadership of Governor Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma State Legislature, the state passed the Oklahoma Parent Choice Tax Credit Act. The new law provides up to $150 million in refundable tax credits in 2024 to cover up to $7,500 in tuition and education costs for students from low-income households. For students from higher income households, the credit gradually decreases to $5,000.
By early January, about 30,000 student families had applied for tax credits to cover education costs, including tuition, for parents to send their children to private or religious schools of their choice. Families with thousands of students won't be able to benefit from it this year because of the statewide credit cap.
Fortunately, the statewide cap under this law increased by $50 million in 2025 and is scheduled to increase again in 2026. But more can be done to ensure that students from low-income and middle-class families in Oklahoma can receive the education they have always had access to. Almost only high-income households had access.
Congress has enacted the Educational Choice Act for Children (ECCA), which provides federal credits equal to 100% of charitable contributions from individual taxpayers or corporations to scholarship granting organizations for kindergarten through 12th grade education. A bill entitled “is proposed. . If passed, hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma students would have access to privately funded scholarships for elementary and secondary education, and parents would have a wider range of educational options to choose from.
The federal ECCA ensures that families of limited means in Oklahoma do not have the financial ability to choose the best education for their children. This includes families who homeschool their children and reside in Indian Country or rural areas who decide to keep their children. in the district's public schools. This is because scholarship-granting organizations can award scholarships for a variety of educational expenses beyond private school tuition, including tutoring, special needs services, online learning, homeschool costs, and educational technology and software. Because it's sexual.
The obvious question to ask is, “Should Washington be involved in education?” Isn't that a state and local issue? Furthermore, I believe that education is best decided by parents, not state bureaucrats, and certainly not Washington.
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That's why Oklahoma's Parental Choice Tax Credit Act is a landmark piece of legislation. This law empowers more families to make decisions about their children's education by empowering them to make the best financial choice. The federal ECCA would similarly create private scholarships that parents could use to meet their children's educational needs without restrictions or mandates from education bureaucracies in Washington. ECCA is also supported by the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs, an organization that supports public policies that respect federalism and individual freedom.
As a former governor of Oklahoma and a member of both chambers of the Oklahoma State Legislature, I know firsthand that the law-making process is typically slow and can take years, especially in Washington. But children grow up fast, and families don't have time to wait, especially after prolonged school closures and associated learning loss during the pandemic.
Passage of the federal ECCA not only ensures more families have educational options, but also provides K-12 education that supplements state tax credits available to Oklahoma's children, especially in the state's more expensive areas. The scholarship fund will also increase. Passing ECCA also means that by strengthening Oklahoma's innovative state-level educational choice offerings, Oklahoma can become a national leader in ensuring equal educational opportunity for all children.
The Educational Choice for Children Act has significant support in Congress, with co-sponsors including Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Reps. Tom Cole and Kevin Hahn in the House. I urge our state's congressional delegation to support this important school choice legislation to ensure that no Oklahoma student lacks the means to receive the best education their parents can guarantee. .
Frank Keating served as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003.