Really fantastic recent paper by @hmatthewlee and @ben_scafidi that also finds that enrollment declines historically have in fact led to an increase in public school resources on a per-pupil basis! xitter.cf/hmatthewlee/status/209…

🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Rules published this morning for the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (or EFTC) - will raise billions of new $$$ for public and private school students starting in 2027. Really important wins for students, families, and taxpayers. I read the rules so you don't have to. Here are my main takeaways: - Credit for Married Couples Filing Jointly is up to $3,400 **I estimate this adds $3.8 billion more in giving for every +5% of taxpayer participation 🤯 - Payroll deductions expressly defined as "cash" and allowable as a way to make a qualified contribution to a scholarship organization **This will 2-3x contributions or more. Massive for public and private school students alike. Would work similar to employer matching gift programs - massive on-ramp for donations - Affirmed that public school students are eligible subject to state participation and income requirements. ** Treasury estimates that ~95% of 5-17 year old students are eligible to receive scholarships across public, private, and religious schools - Scholarships for tutoring and special education services for students attending schools in high poverty areas get a safe harbor re: income verification **expands access greatly for low-income students by not requiring additional paperwork from parents - huge - Income eligibility is adjusted for family size 👶👶👶👶👶 **Really important for families in lower income counties - Expenses must be paid directly to schools or qualified vendors. Digital wallets are permitted. **Cannot give cash scholarships directly to families unless as a reimbursement w/documentation - States cannot arbitrarily restrict scholarship organizations in participating states **Great news for minimizing the use of this tax credit as a political weapon vs. serving kids - Governors must file their official opt-in paper work by January 1, 2027 or their students lose out for the first year. SGO list needs to be submitted by Feb. 15th for first year. - Homeschool students - confirmed that they can receive scholarships in states where they are categorized as attending a type of school under state law, but questions remain. More guidance promised in the future. - Multi-state scholarship orgs are allowed **game changing for students in smaller states - Students in military families remain eligible for scholarships as long as they come from or currently live in a participating state - SGOs do not need to collect SSNs - donors will receive a unique donor number