HB 1783 -- Missouri Student Success Scholarships Tax Credit
Program

Sponsor:  Bearden

This bill establishes the Missouri Student Success Scholarships
Tax Credit Program which authorizes a 100% tax credit beginning
with the 2006 tax year for taxpayers who donate to a
scholarship-granting organization if the donations are not
claimed on the taxpayer's federal income tax return.  The credit
is non-refundable but may be carried forward for three years or
transferred.  The cumulative amount of tax credits cannot exceed
$40 million annually, indexed for inflation.  Scholarships may
not exceed $5,000, indexed for inflation.

Eligibility standards for students receiving scholarships include
a grade point average of 2.5 or less; residence in the St. Louis,
Kansas City, or Wellston school district; attendance at a public
school for the semester before a scholarship is granted or
starting school in the state for the first time; and a family
income which qualifies the student for the reduced lunch program.
Scholarship-granting organizations must meet requirements for
fiscal soundness, percentage of revenues devoted to educational
scholarships, and public reporting.  Private schools qualify to
accept scholarship students by meeting requirements which include
employee background checks and student assessments, among others.
The bill specifies how scholarship checks will be distributed.

Scholarships may also be used at public schools outside the
eligible school districts.  If the scholarship student attends
another public school, the accepting school must take the
educational scholarship funds in lieu of state funds owed to the
accepting district.  Public schools losing students to qualifying
schools retain the state funding for that student for one school
year.

The Joint Committee on Legislative Research will contract a study
to measure student achievement, satisfaction with the program,
and its impact on public and private schools.

The provisions of the bill will expire six years from the
effective date.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated November 29, 2006 at 9:44 am