THE RIGHT TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Thanks to advocacy and education from Iowa ACE and partners such as schools, churches and individuals, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack signed the Educational Opportunities Act into law in 2006. This legislation allows individual Iowa taxpayers to receive a tax credit equal to 65 percent of the total amount of voluntary cash contributions donated to an STO. STOs allocate those funds as tuition grants to Iowa students to assist them in attending an accredited nonpublic school.

The STO cap for tax credits in 2007 was set at $5 million. On May 29, 2007, Governor Chet Culver signed an appropriations bill that included a cap expansion on Iowa income tax credits to a total of $7.5 million in 2008.

Nearly half of the children in Iowa, or 225,590 students, are eligible to receive these scholarships each year. There are far more families interested in nonpublic schools and STO assistance than can be accommodated by available funding. Iowa ACE is working to expand the tuition grant program and create additional programs to meet this outstanding need.

TAX CREDIT CAPS FOR:
2007 $5.0 million
2008 $7.5 million