By Dan McCaleb
Oklahoma’s Stay in School Fund tuition assistance program helped 1,893 children attend private school in the state this school year, according to a new report from the governor’s office.
Launched in July by Gov. Kevin Stitt, the program was intended to help about 1,500 children attend private school, according to initial estimates. But because the average cost of $5,132 per child was about 20% lower than initial estimates, 25% more children benefited from the program, the report said.
“The average scholarship grant of $5,132 is also substantially less than what the state would have spent to educate those children in a traditional public school where per-pupil spending was $12,069 in 2019, based on data from the Oklahoma Cost Accounting System (OCAS),” the report said.
Of the students who benefited, more than one of five come from a home with income at 100 percent of the federal poverty level or lower (a family of four with $26,200 of annual income or less) and 57% come from families with incomes at 185 percent of the poverty level or less ($48,470 for a family of four).
Jennifer Carter, Oklahoma senior advisor for American Federation for Children, said the program is working better than anticipated.
“Yesterday’s report on Governor Stitt’s ‘Stay in School’ tuition assistance program shows that families across Oklahoma, from all backgrounds, want school choice – and that robust school-choice programs can be implemented in a financially prudent way that actually spends less than the per-pupil cost in a traditional public-school setting,” Carter said in a statement. “Thanks to Governor Stitt’s compassionate leadership, hundreds of very low-income families today are nonetheless able to provide a first-class education for their children, and Oklahoma is on the map as a national leader in education for all.”
National School Choice Week 2021 is Jan. 24-29. The week is dedicated to celebrating school choice programs in states across the country.
Originally published by The Center Square. Republished with permission.
