AUSTIN – Matthew Ladner, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for Education Policy, will testify on Senate Bill 23 before the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, April 9, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in room E1.028 of the Texas State Capitol. The bill is in favor of education tax credits.
"An option to empower students and parents to attend the school of their choice via an education tax credit scholarship program is not just smart policy – it's a compassionate policy for disadvantaged children who need it most," said Dr. Ladner. "An education tax credit would allow corporations to subtract a certain amount from their taxes for education-related purchases or donations to scholarship programs."
Dr. Ladner adds that tax credit programs lead to cost savings. For example, Florida enacted tax credit legislation in 2001, and since has experienced immense educational savings at the state and local levels.
"Florida saved $57.9 million last year alone while providing expanded options for parents," said Dr. Ladner. "Academic evaluations have found that both scholarship recipients and former public schools responded favorably to competition with higher academic gains. Texas schoolchildren will never meet their full potential until parents have the ability to customize their education to meet their needs."
Matthew Ladner, Ph.D. is a Senior Fellow with Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for Education Policy, a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
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