In one important aspect, the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program, which helps families send children to private schools, operates just like the public school system: The program is open to all.

Opponents act as though this is a major flaw yet never say a peep about the much larger taxpayer benefit provided to the “rich” who use public schools. 

Oklahoma public schools reported $9,600,703,488 in revenue in the 2023-2024 school year when enrollment was 698,923—an average of $13,736 per student.

The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program provides refundable tax credits of $5,000 to $7,500 per child, with the largest credits going to those with the lowest income.

If Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, lived in Oklahoma and sent school-age children to a public school, he would face no extra charge and would receive the full taxpayer benefit of $13,736 per child.

Or he could access the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program to send his children to private schools—but in that case, he would only get $5,000 per child.

Somehow, the $5,000 tax credit is proclaimed a giveaway for “the rich” while a taxpayer subsidy of $13,736 per child to the same individual is not.

Notably, school-choice opponents don’t complain that the “rich” are not charged extra for police protection, firefighter services, or public roads—all of which are taxpayer-funded and available to all. 

Thus, the class-warfare argument used by school-choice opponents makes no sense. Perhaps that’s why polling shows voters overwhelmingly prefer a school-choice system open to everyone rather than limited to specific income levels.

Furthermore, the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program is benefiting lower-income and middle-class families in far greater numbers than those at the top of the income scale. 

A report by the Oklahoma Tax Commission showed the number of children served from families with incomes below $75,000 was 35 percent greater than the number from families earning more than $250,000. 

Overall, 60 percent of children came from families with incomes below $150,000, and nearly 80 percent were below the top bracket of more than $250,000.

Yet some critics now act as though anything above $75,000 makes one “rich,” even though a household where the father is a police officer and the mother a schoolteacher will have an income above that level. 

A recent parent rally in Oklahoma City highlighted the real-world reality of the program. Attendees included all groups that critics claimed would never benefit from school choice: Low-income students, racial minorities, and rural students were all present.

The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program is providing all Oklahoma families with new educational opportunities, particularly working-class families who previously could only dream of a private school for their children.

Opponents aren’t upset that the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit is unfair; they are upset that it is succeeding.