Va. lawmakers to consider creating tax credit for home schooling, private school parents

ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — A bill to create a tax credit for parents who home school or send their kids to private schools will be considered in Richmond, Va. Monday.

A lot of parents are fired up in opposition to the bill, saying it would take money out of public education.

Here is the summary of HB 784, which can be found here.

"Home instruction and private school tax credit. Creates an individual, nonrefundable income tax credit for taxable years 2022 through 2026, for amounts paid by the parent or legal guardian of a child for the child's home instruction expenses or tuition for attending an accredited private school in Virginia. The credit shall equal the lesser of the amount actually paid in the taxable year for such costs or half of the average state standards of quality funding per student per year. The credit may be taken for instruction-related materials, courses, or programs used in home instruction or for private school tuition. The credit is available for two years per child and can be carried forward for five taxable years."

People can sign up to testify here, or submit written testimony here before the bill is discussed Monday in the Virginia General Assembly Finance committee.

The following bills on charter schools have also been introduced and are backed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin:

• Public charter schools; applications, review and approval. Bill Number: HB 344 / SB 608 / SB 635
• College partnership laboratory schools; application and establishment. Bill Number: HB 346 / SB 598
• Public schools; regional charter school divisions. Bill Number: HB 356 / SB 125

Democrats argue these bills take funding away from K-12 public schools.

WJLA reporter Nick Minock interviewed Democratic state Sen. Louise Lucas:

Youngkin says his goal is to add more public charter schools in Virginia to give Virginia parents more options.

Charter schools are a part of the public school system in Virginia. Youngkin’s goal is to add more. On Monday, in his General Assembly speech, Youngkin said he wants to add charter schools to give Virginia parents more options.

“Our education standards for math and reading are now the lowest in the nation. Unelected political appointees lowered standards, which inevitably led to a decline in student performance. Let’s stop cheating our kids,” Youngkin said last week in his General Assembly speech. “I’m also calling for $150 million to help us meet our goal of starting 20 new charter schools. When it comes to the education budget, I’ve heard consistent bipartisan agreement from all of you that the budget you’ll pass, and that I’ll sign will reflect a record investment in education including a significant boost in teacher pay.”