From Bryan Fischer, Idaho Values Alliance

Education tax credits – in which parents and other interested citizens get a dollar-for-dollar credit on their state tax returns for their investment in education – has been a raging success in Arizona.

Funded entirely by private money, School Choice Arizona gives parents the opportunity to get their kids out of failing schools and creates competition in education, which improves the education product for everybody.

Naturally, the ACLU and the educational establishment fiercely oppose choice in education, and now have gone to the court for the fifth time (!) to try to block the Arizona plan. They are trying to make the case that the plan is unconstitutional, since some parents take the tax credit for sending their kids to religious schools.

But since there is no public money involved, there cannot possibly be a constitutional violation, and as an ADF attorney says, “There is simply no case law out there that agrees with them.”

They have lost in all four previous forays into court, and are likely to do so again.

The Heritage Foundation points out that courts have consistently allowed school choice programs to go forward, and a spokesman for Heritage says, “School choice programs in states like Arizona and Florida and cities like Milwaukee and Cleveland are succeeding in boosting test scores, improving parent satisfaction, and even causing public schools to improve, because of the risk of losing students.”

We hope you will be able to attend our Friedman Legacy for Freedom Reception on July 31, at which we will honor the legacy of the pioneer of the school choice movement, Milton Friedman, and present some proposals (including education tax credits) that will improve school choice in the Gem State. (Details available here.)

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