September 2002
House Poised to
Act on Education Tax Deduction
 The
House of Representatives is expected to take up a bill this month that
would provide low-income parents a tax deduction for expenses related
to elementary and secondary education in public or private schools.
The measure would build on the current tax deduction for higher education
expenses, extending it to costs incurred in connection with K-12 education,
including books, computers, supplies, equipment, transportation, tutoring,
special needs services, fees, and tuition. The maximum annual deduction
for K-12 expenses would be $3,000 and would be available to persons with
adjusted gross incomes not exceeding $20,000 for individual filers or
$40,000 for joint filers. Under these provisions, a married couple earning
$35,000 annually and incurring $3,000 in K-12 expenses for tutoring or
tuition would realize a tax savings of about $450.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 20 million children in grades
K-12 (40 percent of the school-age population) come from families with
annual incomes under $40,000.
To streamline the tax-filing paperwork and to expand the class of beneficiaries,
the deduction would be "above-the-line." The term refers to
a deduction to gross income taken above the bottom line of page 1 of Form
1040. Taxpayers need not itemize (i.e., use Schedule A) to take the deduction.
According to a report prepared by the Joint Committee on Taxation, the
proposal, while imposing separate new maximum deductions and income limitations
for K-12 expenses (described above), would retain the current parameters
for expenses related to higher education. A family could take the new
K-12 deduction in addition to the existing deduction for college costs.
Under current law, taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes that do not exceed
$65,000 ($130,000 for joint filers) may take a maximum deduction for higher
education expenses of $3,000. But in tax years 2004 and 2005 (the deduction
expires after December 31, 2005), the maximum deduction jumps to $4,000,
and a new deduction of up to $2,000 kicks in for persons with incomes
as high as $80,000 ($160,000 for joint filers). So while the higher education
deduction is available to families with a range of incomes, the K-12 deduction
would be distinctly focused on families most in need.
The Joint Committee estimates the bill would have a cumulative revenue
loss through 2006 of $4.9 billion. As is the case with the tax deduction
for college expenses, as well as all other deductions and credits, the
revenue effect would involve a general loss to the U.S. Treasury and would
not be related to a particular expenditure item.
The bill, called the Back to School Tax Relief Act (H.R. 5193), represents
a compromise among various parties determined to enact some measure of
tax relief to help families with K-12 education costs. Last April, Representative
Bob Schaffer (R-CO) proposed a tax credit for contributions to public
or private schools and to nonprofit organizations that award grants to
students for education expenses. That proposal was reviewed by Ways and
Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) and his staff, who helped
reshape it into H.R. 5193. The new bill is backed by House Republican
leadership.
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PDK Poll
Shows Big Jump in Support for School Choice
The nation's most prominent poll on attitudes
about education shows a dramatic increase since last year in the percentage
of Americans who support public funding of attendance at private schools.
Two questions in the poll have tracked public opinion
on the issue for more than five years, and this year both questions have
registered all-time high
response rates from persons favoring government assistance for students
in private schools. The 34th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the
Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools was taken before the Supreme
Court issued its decision in the Cleveland voucher case. The poll's report
predicts that the uptick in support for funding private education will
likely affect the debate that will arise from the decision.
In the first question, respondents are asked whether
they "favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private
school to attend at public expense." Forty-six percent of respondents
this year said they favor the idea, a 12-point increase over last year's
34 percent.
The second question is more involved: "A proposal
has been made that would allow parents to send their school-age children
to any public, private, or church-related school they choose. For those
parents choosing nonpublic schools, the government would pay all or part
of the tuition. Would you favor or oppose this proposal in your state?"
Fifty-two percent said they favor the proposal,
while 46 percent oppose it. Support jumped 8 points from last year's level
of 44 percent. A breakout by race is revealing: 49 percent of whites and
63 percent of nonwhites support the  proposal.
And a sharp divide also exists by age. Sixty-nine percent of 18- to 29-
year-olds favor the idea, while only 39 percent of persons 50 or older
do so.
In a section dealing with policy implications,
the report concludes that the "jump in support for allowing students
and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense will
fuel the debate over vouchers that is almost guaranteed by the recent
Supreme Court decision on vouchers."
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Guidance
Issued on Supplemental Services Program
 Private
schools are eligible providers of supplemental services under the No Child
Left Behind Act (NCLBA). That was just one of the details delivered last
month in guidance released by the U.S. Department of Education on the
new supplemental services program.
Low-income students who attend persistently failing public schools are
entitled to extra academic services, such as tutoring and remediation,
that take place outside the regular school day. Parents select the provider
of services from a list of providers approved by the state.
Students at an estimated 3,000 public schools in
their second year of needing improvement will be eligible to receive supplemental
services this fall. The number of schools and students is expected to
grow dramatically in future years.
Each eligible student will receive funds for supplemental
services equal either to the amount the district receives in Title I funding
per low-income child or to the cost of the services, whichever is less.
In anticipation of the opportunities presented
by this new provision of education law, various for-profit vendors are
gearing up to provide supplemental services. But the Department's guidance
makes clear that states can approve a variety of entities as service providers,
including private schools, faith-based organizations, and other community
organizations. Private schools should have no problem meeting the qualifying
criteria, one being a record of effectiveness in improving student academic
achievement. Offering supplemental services could be a way for private
schools to reach out to the community and assist children not currently
enrolled in the school. In return, the school and its teachers would be
compensated for the costs of providing the services.
To be eligible providers, schools have to be approved
by their state education departments. States are now in the process of
publishing provider criteria and applications.
The guidance issued August 6 states that a supplemental
service provider "is not, merely by being a provider, a 'recipient
of Federal financial assistance.'" The document goes on to say that
providers must meet "all applicable federal, state, and local health,
safety, and civil rights laws" and "may not discriminate on
the basis of race, national origin, sex, or disability in accepting students,
and providing students with supplemental educational services." The
provisions apply to the supplemental educational services program and
not to the entire agency or institution delivering the service.
With respect to faith-based organizations (FBOs)
serving as providers of supplemental services, the guidance document clarifies
that while such providers may not "discriminate against beneficiaries
on the basis of religion," they are not required to "give up
their religious character or identification to be providers." The
document underscores the prohibition against federal funds being used
to support "religious practices, such as religious instruction, worship,
or prayer," and directs FBOs to "comply with generally applicable
cost accounting requirements to ensure that federal funds are not used
to support these activities."
On whether private school students are entitled
to supplemental services, the Department's guidance repeats the provision
in the No Child Left Behind Act that such services are only available
to qualifying children in public schools.
The supplemental services guidance document is available on the Web at
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SASA/suppsvcsguid.pdf.
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SAT Scores
Up and Down
 The
College Board last month released SAT scores for college-bound graduates
of the class of 2002. The story in a nutshell is this: math scores are
up, verbal scores are down.
Since 1997, average math scores rose 5 points,
with the 2002 score of 516 being the highest in 32 years. Average verbal
scores, however, declined 1 point since 1997, hitting an unremarkable
504 in 2002. Combined SAT scores for the class of 2002 totaled 1020, a
net gain of 4 points since 1997.
Scores varied considerably by type of school. Combined
scores for public schools, religious schools, and independent schools
were, respectively, 1012, 1057, and 1119. Since 1997, scores rose 2 points
for public schools, 18 points for religious schools, and 12 points for
independent schools. Thus, as much as half of the 4-point gain in the
national average combined score since 1997 may be attributable to the
above-average increases posted by private school students-quite an accomplishment,
since they constitute a relatively small share of seniors taking the SATs.
Private schools enroll 9 percent of the nation's 12th graders, and account
for 17 percent of 12th grade SAT takers from traditional schools (a term
that excludes charter, correspondence, home, and non-accredited schools).
Nationally, 46 percent of this year's 2.87 million
high school graduates took the SAT, including 40 percent of 2.59 million
public school graduates and 76 percent of 280,000 private school graduates.
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Report
Issued on Teacher Quality
What are the marks of an effective teacher? "[R]igorous
research indicates that verbal  ability
and content knowledge are the most important attributes of highly qualified
teachers." So says Secretary of Education Rod Paige in his first
annual report to Congress on teacher quality.
According to the report, titled Meeting the Highly
Qualified Teacher Challenge, "[S]tudies have consistently documented
the important connection between a teacher's verbal and cognitive abilities
and student achievement." Stanford University economist Eric Hanushek
is quoted in the report as saying, "[P]erhaps the closest thing to
a consistent conclusion across studies is the finding that teachers who
perform well on verbal ability tests do better in the classroom [in boosting
student achievement]."
That's good news for students in private schools.
A 1999 report on first-time teachers from the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES) found that the average SAT verbal score was 578 for
private school teachers and 520 for public school teachers (Progress Through
the Teacher Pipeline, table C26). The average SAT math score was 558 for
private school teachers and 516 for public school teachers.
Secretary Paige's report calls into question the
value of prospective teachers attending schools of education. "Historically,
research suggests that students enrolled in schools of education are not
as academically accomplished as other university students." Data
also suggest that such schools "fail to attract the best students."
Only 14 percent of college graduates who majored in education and 15 percent
of all public school teachers had SAT or ACT scores in the top quartile.
"In contrast, 25 percent of uncertified teachers scored in the top
quartile on these tests, as did 33 percent of private school teachers."
Meeting the Highly Qualified Teacher Challenge
is available at http://www.title2.org/secReport.htm.
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CAPENotes
• As the debate heats up about extending the freedom to choose
a child's school to parents who don't have the money to exercise that
freedom, related discussions are intensifying about what constitutes reasonable
government regulation of non-government schools. What's an appropriate
accountability mechanism for private schools? Should private school teachers
hold the same credentials as those in public schools? Should schools be
permitted to admit students on the basis of religion or academic performance?
Should they be expected to teach certain core values necessary for good
citizenship? Should the state require all students to meet the same performance
standards? And at what point does government regulation preclude parental
freedom by effectively eliminating  distinctions
among schools?
In Finding the Right Balance, Volume I, authors Charles Glenn and Jan
de Groof provide a practical framework to help policymakers handle the
tension between school choice and state con-trol. They lay out the issues
clearly and examine how more than two dozen countries deal with educational
freedom for parents and government regulation of schools. Their real-life
examples of governments interacting with non-government schools provide
policymakers and private school leaders an encyclopedia of particular
approaches to a complex area of public policy. An impressive work of scholarship,
the 624-page book is a "must read" for anyone involved with
education policy and private schools.
An upcoming volume II will provide a comprehensive analysis of the legal
and policy issues associated with educational freedom and state accountability.
Finding the Right Balance, Volume I may be purchased at the publisher's
Web site: http://www.lemma.nl/autosite/boeken/984.htm.
• U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige recently released details
of a proposal to revamp the Blue Ribbon Schools recognition program. Interested
parties have until September 27 to comment on the proposal, called the
No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon Schools Program.
According to the draft application packet, the purpose of the proposed
program is "to honor those elementary and secondary schools in the
United States that make significant progress in closing the achievement
gap or whose students achieve at very high levels." Schools would
qualify for the award (1) if their test scores put them in the top 10
percent of schools in the state or (2) if they have 40 percent or more
students from disadvantaged backgrounds and have dramatically improved
student performance. The proposed program would recognize elementary and
secondary schools in the same year.
To download and review the draft application package and to find out
how to comment on the proposed program, visit CAPE's Web site at the following
address: http://www.capenet.org/brs.html.
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