Full Constitutional Choice Finally Comes to Michigan Families

A legislative proposal known as Student Opportunity Scholarships relies on tax credits, an approach to financing choice in education that heeds guidance provided by the Espinoza ruling. It’s also consistent with ideas promoted by the Mackinac Center for nearly 25 years and adopted, in various forms, by 20 states.

This approach provides a tax benefit for individual and corporate donors to invest in students rather than the bureaucratic K-12 system. It lets them designate some of what they owe in state taxes to fund nonprofit scholarship organizations. Their donations, in turn, would directly aid students and their families, who are best equipped to make important educational decisions.

The legislative solution would:

• Enable the Michigan Department of Treasury to authorize nonprofit organizations to grant scholarships under the new Student Opportunity Scholarship Program
• Allow nonprofit organizations to solicit and collect donations from individuals and businesses, and accept scholarship applications from students’ families
• Direct resources to students, with an emphasis on those with the greatest need

More than a million public school students would be eligible for scholarships of up to $500 each (with up to $1,100 for students with disabilities), which could be used for a wide variety of education-related expenses, including:

• Tutoring
• Textbooks and instructional materials
• After-school programs
• Special-needs therapies
• Career and apprenticeship programs
• Online courses
• Testing fees
• School-related transportation

Students not enrolled in public schools could apply for larger scholarships, which could also be used for tuition costs. Lower-income families would be eligible for more funds.