HB 10-1296 Summary

• Creates a $1,000 refundable income tax credit for taxpayers enrolling a qualified child in private school, effective for tax years beginning January 1, 2011 and thereafter.

• Defines a qualified child as a dependent enrolled full-time in public school or eligible to enter public kindergarten, excluding those already in private school or home-schooled as of the bill's effective date; qualified status continues as long as the child remains dependent and in private school.

• Requires private schools to issue credit certificates upon taxpayer application, specifying the public school and district the child would have attended; certificates must be submitted with income tax returns.

• Provides $1,000 annual grants to public school districts for each student lost to private school enrollment, with grants distributed to the specific school the student would have attended.

• Requires the Department of Revenue to notify the Joint Budget Committee by May 1 each year of the number of credit claims, with the General Assembly appropriating $1,000 from the general fund per claim to the Department of Education for district distribution by May 10.