House Bill 1406: Education Tax Credits

Author:
Representative Moore

Summary:
This was a tax credit bill for education expenses. It would have included homeschoolers. For students in independent schools (nonpublic school students), there would have been a gradual phase-in of the tax relief beginning in 2006, with full participation by 2010. This bill was almost a duplicate of a bill filed in South Carolina. In South Carolina, homeschoolers may comply with the compulsory attendance law by being a member of a homeschool association. There was language in House Bill 1406 that would have applied only to a situation like South Carolina, so it should have been taken out. In section 3(l) defining "tuition," it referred to fees for membership in an association that sets the academic standards for the student's homeschooling program. It also stated that expenses for tutors or academic lessons are included in the tax credit only if the person providing the service "meets the requirements for providing the service as set by the standard-setting entity for that student's home school program." There is no such standard-setting entity for homeschoolers in Mississippi, so this language should have been removed. The worst part of the bill appeared in Section 19 (1)(a)(iii) which would have required the Legislative Budget Office to evaluate the academic performance of all public school and independent school students which would have included homeschool students.

Status:

01/17/2005		Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means
02/01/2005		Died in Committee

Action Requested:
None

HSLDA's Position:
This bill was opposed.

Other Resources

Bill Text   (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)