Letter Circulating in the IL House to Save Scholarship Program 5.18.23

“The only kernel of school choice that exists in the State of Illinois is the “Invest in Kids Act”, and unless there is significant pushback, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson and others in the state legislature are going to kill the program for low-income, working-class families when it comes up for renewal this legislative session,” said State Representative Brad Halbrook.

Shelbyville, IL: Republican members of the House circulated a letter supporting the extension of the Invest in Kids scholarship fund which is slated to sunset at the end of 2023. The program currently gives over 9,000 kids hope for a better education and a better life through tax-credit scholarships when the traditional public school system fails them. If the program is not extended Illinois will be the first state in the nation to kill a school choice program. This year neighboring states of Iowa and Indiana have made school choice universal or nearly universal.

“Unfortunately, Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch’s office, either ignorantly or deceptively, put out a statement that legislators have until the end of the year to extend the Invest in Kids Program- this is blatantly FALSE. The Illinois legislature must act before regular session ends to extend this program. For 2023-24 school year families and scholarship granting organizations must know if an extension of the program will be approved in order to register students and marrying scholarships with students and schools. This activity all happens over the next two months.” Halbrook further explained.

To date, 32 members have signed the letter. A copy of the letter is below.

This scholarship program has helped thousands of deserving Illinois students living in under-resourced communities to access a high-quality education, and this is what genuine school choice looks like.