To ensure no child is denied educational opportunity, members of a state Senate committee have voted to increase funding for the popular Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program.

The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program provides refundable tax credits of $5,000 to $7,500 per child to cover the cost of private school tuition. As with the public-school system, all Oklahomans can participate in the tax-credit program. However, unlike the public-school system, the greatest financial benefit is provided to families with the smallest incomes.

The program is currently capped at $250 million per year. More than $248 million in credits have been claimed for the current school year. If demand for credits exceeds supply next year, as expected based on current trends, some Oklahoma families will be turned away.

Senate Bill 1380, by state Sen. Julie Daniels, increases the cap to $275 million to head off that problem.

“It was never the intent with passing this program to hit a ceiling and start leaving children on the sidelines whose families want to access the credit,” said Daniels, R-Bartlesville. “We always knew that it would need to grow, and we’re at a stage now where we need to do that, gradually.”

According to the most recent report from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, 39,722 children are attending private school this year thanks to the school-choice program, with 56 percent from families with an income of $150,000 or less.

Those families are considered middle class or lower based on widely accepted metrics. The Pew Research Center defines middle-class earners as those with annual household incomes between two-thirds and double the national median household income, or $55,820 to $167,460.

According to Census data, the median household income in Oklahoma among married-couple families is $95,573, meaning half of Oklahoma families earn more than that amount, and the Census reports that the overwhelming majority of Oklahoma children live with married parents or in two-adult households.

Among families using the program to send a child to private school for the first time this year, 74 percent are from low-income or middle-class families.

State Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, objected to providing more education funding to state families via the tax-credit program.

“We have never once given a 10-percent increase to common ed or higher ed,” Kirt said, referring to Oklahoma’s public K-12 school system and state colleges. “In no way would we view that as gradual.”

However, the financial commitment to the state’s public schools far exceeds the amount of money going to the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program.

Total Oklahoma public-school revenue from all sources—including local, state, and federal funds—has surged more than $3 billion since 2018, rising from $6.3 billion to $9.5 billion.

Per-pupil revenue in Oklahoma public schools far exceeds the $7,500 maximum credit offered to parents using the private-school choice program.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the most recent for which full data are available, public schools had $9,586,994,906 in revenue from all sources, excluding cash forward and other savings. Schools reported serving an average daily attendance of 645,904 students that year, meaning schools had per-pupil revenue of $14,842.

State Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, noted that lawmakers have repeatedly provided increased funding for public schools alongside funds for the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program.

“We know that the last time that we did this, there was also negotiated into the budget a substantial increase in the public-school common-ed funding,” Rader said. “One would have to anticipate that would happen again.”

Daniels noted a 10-percent increase to the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program is “quite different than a 10-percent increase” to a multi-billion-dollar public schools’ budget.

“We do well for both, and I know again this year that will be part of the discussion,” Daniels said.

SB 1380 passed the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on a 10-2 vote that broke along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed. The bill now proceeds to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

A similar measure has also advanced from a state House committee.

House Bill 3705, by state Rep. Chad Caldwell, increases the tax-credit program’s cap to $300 million next year. The bill also provides for an additional increase of $50 million whenever at least 90 percent of available credits are claimed in future years.

A rolling poll by EdChoice currently shows that 62 percent of adults in Oklahoma, including 72 percent of school parents, support school vouchers.

In November 2025, a poll commissioned by the organization “yes. every kid. foundation” showed that 67 percent of likely Oklahoma Republican primary voters view the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit program favorably, and 64 percent support removing the cap.