HB982:

Education Savings Account Program; established, Education Improvement Scholarships tax credits.

Bill Summary:

Education Savings Account Program established; Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits. Establishes the Education Savings Account Program, to be administered by the Department of Education, whereby the parent of any individual who is a resident of the Commonwealth and who is eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school may apply for an Education Savings Account for his child into which the Department of Education deposits certain state and local funds and from which the parent makes certain enumerated qualifying expenses to educate his child in a setting and a manner other than full-time education in a public school. The bill requires the Program to be fully implemented prior to the beginning of the 2022–2023 school year.

The bill also increases the value of the Education Improvement Scholarships income tax credit for a donation to a scholarship foundation from 65 percent to 100 percent of the donation. The bill removes the aggregate limit on tax credits per year, which under current law is $25 million, and removes individual minimum and maximum required donation amounts.

The bill raises the threshold for students to qualify for scholarships to 1,000 percent of free or reduced-price lunch standards or, for eligible students with a disability, 1,200 percent of such standards. The bill grants scholarship foundations the discretion to determine what expenses may be funded by tax-credit-subsidized scholarships. Under current law, such expenses are limited by statute. The bill expands eligibility for scholarships to any student who is a Virginia resident and eligible to enroll in a Virginia primary or secondary school. Current law restricts eligibility to certain categories of students.

The bill removes the requirement that scholarship-funded schools report test results of scholarship-funded students. The provisions of the bill pertaining to the Education Improvement Scholarships income tax credits apply starting with taxable year 2022.