It’s getting wild out there! We at ACE would like to encourage all our families, students, and partner schools to take care of themselves during this difficult time.
In the meantime, we know many of you have been anxiously watching (and participating in) legislative discussions related to educational choice in your states. We want to provide a quick update on where each of those conversations stand right now—and what we can expect to come next.
Arkansas
Arkansas does not have a regular legislative session in 2020. Instead, the state is scheduled to hold a fiscal session for several weeks beginning on April 8. That fiscal session will not include discussion of any form of new state K-12 scholarship program at this time.
It remains to be seen whether or how the coronavirus will impact this session, but ACE does not anticipate any direct impact on our Arkansas scholarship programs at this time.
Colorado
The Colorado General Assembly will temporarily adjourn until at least March 30. Given the expanding pandemic, we believe the adjournment could last even longer.
The shutdown leaves in limbo three separate bills related to the use of 529 educational savings accounts for K-12 tuition. Here’s a quick rundown of those bills:
- HB 1034 – Colin Larson is once again running a bill that would allow families to access their educational savings for K-12 tuition without fear of state tax penalties. Unfortunately, the bill likely does not have the political support it needs to survive the Colorado House of Representatives.
- SB 073 – This bill is a new version of the same bill ACE has opposed and defeated for the past two legislative sessions. It would explicitly forbid parents from using 529 accounts for K-12 tuition despite federal law to the contrary and codify penalties against parents who do so.
- Potential compromise – ACE has been working with a variety of stakeholders to craft a bipartisan compromise that would allow families to access their savings for K-12 tuition under certain circumstances. Unfortunately, leadership in the House has yet to greenlight the compromise despite support from both sides of the aisle.
How the current shutdown will affect these bills remains to be seen. But at the very least, we can expect a vastly accelerated timeline for hearings, debate, and votes when the legislature reconvenes to finish its business. We know this issue is important to many of you, so please stay tuned!
Kansas
The Kansas legislature is still considering two changes to student eligibility under the state’s scholarship tax credit program for low-income students:
- Expand student income eligibility to better reflect student need in Kansas. The bill would raise income eligibility requirements from the current free lunch line under the National School Lunch Program (130 percent of federal poverty guidelines) to the free and reduced-price lunch line (185 percent of federal poverty guidelines). For an average Kansas family of three, this change would raise the income-eligibility threshold from $28,200 to $40,200
- Allow participating students to come from ANY Kansas public school, not only those enrolled in the lowest-performing 100 elementary schools. Currently, access to scholarships is only available to students who happen to reside in the right enrollment zone. This means that in some cases, students from the same neighborhood have their eligibility determined by which side of the street they live on. If the intent of this program is to serve disadvantaged and at-risk students, those opportunities should be determined solely by need, not by arbitrary enrollment zones or invisible geographic boundaries.
These changes are currently included in several bills, including SB 382, all of which have cleared committee and are awaiting a vote by the full Kansas House of Representatives. We had planned for that vote to happen this week, but the state legislature has decided instead to finish budget work and adjourn until April 27.
We do believe the legislature will address pending business when it returns in April, and that business should include these important changes to the Kansas program.
Louisiana
The Louisiana State Legislature also decided to shut down until March 31. While ACE is not currently supporting any legislation in the state, we do closely monitor potential changes to the Tuition Donation Credit program.
We do not anticipate that this shutdown will impact the ACE program directly because the 2020 legislative session is a “non-fiscal session.” In practice, this means that the legislature is constitutionally prevented from making changes to state law that would impact the state’s fiscal situation—including changes to tax credits and other programs.
Missouri
Missouri is considering several choice-related bills, but ACE has not been directly involved in those conversations. The Missouri legislature takes a regularly scheduled spring break from March 23 to March 27, but the Senate has adjourned early in light of the pandemic.
Wyoming
Has already adjourned its state legislative session on March 12.
Texas and Montana
Texas and Montana, two other ACE states, do not have legislative sessions in 2020.
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