Credit Could Help Homeschoolers, Private Schools
Homeschoolers, private school families and teachers could be reimbursed for education expenses through a new income tax credit if a bill in the Senate passes.
Senate Bill 549 would reimburse up to $1,250 for tuition, materials, and other services like tutoring and therapies, among others.
The current fiscal note estimates a yearly $45 million in state funds being used for these credits starting in 2027, when it’s estimated payouts will start. Great Falls Republican Senator Jeremy Trebas, who is carrying the bill, said that dollar amount can be seen as what homeschoolers, teachers and private school families are paying on their own. “That’s just a portion of education that the state isn’t paying for, that’s being paid for out of pocket by people right now. So it’s a subsidy in a sense.”
Trebas said the credit would apply to about 17,000 people across the state.
Steve White with the Montana Coalition of Home Educators was one of seven opponents to the bill’s single supporter. White said that funding homeschoolers could jeopardize constitutional protections against mandated public school enrollment. He said the law assumes homeschoolers are not taking any state money.
“We don’t take tax credits, we don’t have any government assistance. We do our homeschooling out of sacrifice. And so that strict accountability part of the Montana Constitution doesn’t apply to us.”
Others said the bill disproportionately benefits families enrolled in private schools and further increases Montana’s tax burden.
