Michigan Republican Congressman John James is working to build support for federal legislation that would offer tax breaks in exchange for donations to groups that offer educational scholarships for K-12 students. Those scholarships could go toward expenses like tutoring or private school tuition.

 

James said it’s time to re-think the country’s education system.

 

“The Education Choice for Children Act will empower parents, not bureaucrats, not union bosses, or a system that has cheated and denied millions of children, overwhelmingly minority children, overwhelmingly on the socially economic low end in both rural and urban areas,” James said.

 

Under the federal proposal, the scholarships would be available to kids in households under 300% area median gross income — a measure of the midpoint of an area’s income distribution.

 

The plan isn’t far off from proposals floated in Michigan in recent years — though public school advocates point out the state constitution bans public money from funding private education.

 

Supporters of the scholarship program say it would be different from a voucher program that would directly compensate families for private school tuition.

 

But critics, like Jennifer Smith, the director of government relations for the Michigan Association of School Boards, disagree.

 

She criticized the plan as a school voucher program by a different name.

 

“The idea is the same. They’re trying to shift money from the public tax collections and public money to the private schools. And even though it may be called a tax credit, it’s going to have the same effect,” Smith said.

 

With only a few months left before the general election and Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate and presidency, it’s unlikely the federal proposal will advance much further this session.

 

But supporters hope it comes back next year.