SEF Submits Congressional Testimony on Tax-Credit Scholarships, Community Schools
March 27, 2020
The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) submitted written testimony for the record to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS). SEF submitted testimony in response to a LHHS Request for Public Witnesses regarding education- and social welfare-related measures within the Trump Administration’s FY2021 budget. SEF’s testimony specifically addressed two key components: the Trump Administration’s proposal to create a $5 billion tax-credit scholarship, dubbed the Education Freedom Scholarship program, and the Administration’s proposal to eliminate the $25 million Full-Service Community Schools Program.
SEF unequivocally opposes all forms of school privatization, including tax-credit scholarships, due to the lack of concrete evidence surrounding their effectiveness in improving opportunities and outcomes for students. SEF supports the implementation of community schools, due to their ability to provide critical wraparound services for students in low-income, high-need communities.
Read SEF’s full testimony below.
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