Support Tax Credit Scholarship Expansion legislation. Help us bring equity of opportunity through education to Kansas families in need.
The Kansas State Legislature is currently considering an expansion of the state’s Tax Credits for Low-Income Students Scholarship program to improve fairness. This program is designed to give Kansas families in need access to high-quality K-12 education of their parents' choice, and has allowed the Catholic Education Foundation to fund scholarships for more than 300 students in our Archdiocese this school year. However, the current legislation denies many low-income students access to the program because of their street address or where their family falls on the low-income spectrum.
This proposed change will:
- Remove the geographical and grade level requirements of this program set by the 100 schools list, which currently prevent low-income students who live on the wrong side of a public school boundary line from accessing these scholarships.
- Raise the financial need threshold to include students who qualify for either free or reduced lunch (equates to an annual income of approximately $49,000 for a family of four).
- Accomplish all this without raising the dollar limit of tax credits granted by the state.
These changes will provide hundreds of students with access to these scholarships - students who are currently ineligible due to the program’s tight restrictions. An identical bill has already passed the Kansas Senate.
We urge you to contact your state senators and representatives right away. Lawmakers are in the process of discussing the Tax Credit Scholarship Expansion legislation right now, and need to hear how impactful this expansion will be on the lives of students from those who’ve seen that impact firsthand.
To easily send a pre-written message to your representative, click the button below, and scroll down to, "All our kids deserve quality education. You can help."
Thank you for helping us in making this important program more equitable, and bringing high-quality education to more Kansas children in need.
Learn more about the program and the implications of this amendment.
Learn how the tax credit scholarship program is saving Kansas taxpayers millions each year.