TULSA, Okla. — Applications for the Parental Choice Tax Credit Program are officially open.
Gov. Kevin Stitt said the Tax Commission received over 30,000 applications within the first 90 minutes.
After a five-day delay because of reported technical difficulties, those applications became available on Dec. 6.
- Previous coverage >>> 'Some obstacles': Parental Choice Tax Credit Program application rollout delayed
Parents can get as much as $7,500 to help pay for their children's private school or $1,000 for home school. How much funding people can qualify for depends on their income.
"I'm elated that parents and students are taking advantage of the most transformative change to Oklahoma's education system in decades," Stitt said in a statement. "School choice should be for everyone, not just the rich," he said. "What we've accomplished is a victory for students and a step towards true education freedom. It is amazing to see the demand for this program, and I hope the legislature will consider ways to allow more families to apply for this tax credit in the future. I applaud the team at the Oklahoma Tax Commission for a successful rollout, and I look forward to cheering on students as they enroll in a new era of educational excellence in our state."
2 News reached out to the Tax Commission to verify application numbers, but a spokesperson said they are "still processing submissions" and "will not be releasing any numbers this week."
Proponents say the program promotes school choice, but opponents say it is controversial for a number of reasons.
One issue they say is paying $3.95 million in tax dollars to a private company, Merit International Inc., to run the program. There is also nothing preventing participating schools from raising tuition costs.
Rep. John Waldron told 2 News previously, there's another big concern, “Most of the families that send their kids to private school are affluent to begin with, and do they need big checks from the government? I don’t think so,” he said.
Even those who supported the legislation creating the program expressed concerns this sounds like a voucher program.
- Previous coverage >>> Pro-school choice lawmaker expresses concern over implementation
“Vouchers… pull money away from public schools,” said Rep. Cody Maynard in October. “One of the reasons I could support a tax credit is that it doesn’t.. reduce public school funding. But when we are looking at the rules that have promulgated, it looks like they pulled some of the wording from the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship which is a voucher-style system in the state. It [the current proposal] puts a lot of burden on the schools and it does things that we didn’t intend with a tax credit.”
Oklahomans could see more legislation regarding the school choice credits during the next legislative session.
To submit an application or learn more, head to ParentalChoice.OK.gov.
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