PODCAST: Tony de Nicola on School Choice in the “Big, Beautiful” Reconciliation Bill

The House budget reconciliation bill includes a $5 billion annual federal tax credit modeled after the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) that would make K-12 scholarships available to students in every state. Advocates view the provision as a historic step toward universal education freedom.

Key highlights:

• Donors receive dollar-for-dollar federal tax credits.
• Scholarships can be used for tuition, books, dual enrollment, tutoring, and more.
• Available to nearly all students. Families must earn under 300% of the area median income.
• Operates across all states, regardless of which political party is in control.

“IT IS A TRUE GAME CHANGER THAT WE THINK WOULD REALLY SUPERCHARGE SCHOOL CHOICE ACROSS THE COUNTRY,” DFI senior advisor John Schilling told The74

Senate Action – School choice champions in the Senate are expected to make changes so even more students can benefit from these K-12 scholarships.

In this week’s Freedom to Learn episode, I spoke with Tony de Nicola, chairman of the Invest in Education Coalition, to discuss the federal tax credit’s significance, its congressional and White House support, and the national imperative to improve educational opportunities and outcomes. Below is an abridged transcript of our conversation. Listen to our full conversation on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

I’m curious about your K-12 educational journey. Why are you so committed to expanding educational options for American families?

Tony de Nicola: I was raised in a single-parent family. My father passed away when I was young. I had four siblings, five in total, and all of us went to the local Catholic school because of the generosity of benefactors and the pastor at that school. And that K-8 educational opportunity transformed my life and my siblings’ lives. We’re all college-educated. Some of us have master’s degrees. We’re all productive citizens of society… So why not allow that opportunity for every family in the country?

You’ve been a driving force behind the Educational Choice for Children Act, ECCA. What is special about this particular proposal?

Tony de Nicola: This bill that we’re talking about now in the House and the Senate is the culmination of 30 years of work. …the states that have private school choice represent just about 50% of the K-12 educational population in the country. And the corollary that means that 50% of the students in the country today do not have access to private school choice. So this bill that we’re talking about tries to improve on that and provide universal school choice across all 50 states and will allow families up to two million families across the country in each state to access private school choice that allows them to provide the best educational opportunities for their children, whether it’s private school, homeschooling, tutoring, or other educational needs that will supplement what their kids need so that they can stay on pace and achieve their God-given potential.

Why do we need to do this at the federal level? Are you thinking that this can’t happen at the state level?

Tony de Nicola: No, more so that it’s a national imperative… our test results, the NAEP scores just came out, as you well know, and those scores are horrendous. We’re at levels that we haven’t seen since the 1990s… roughly 30 to 35% of students at fourth and eighth grade levels are proficient at a grade level in math and reading. That is horrendous. That means that 65% of our students are not reading or doing arithmetic at grade level. And so that to me is an economic security issue for the future of our country. That’s a national security issue for the safety and security of our country. And it’s a civil rights issue for these families.

Are you seeing that members of Congress are waking up to the need for this?

Tony de Nicola: Yes, absolutely. There is a building crescendo of support… There’s over 185 studies now that demonstrate that school choice benefits, not just the kids and the families who are beneficiaries of school choice, but it improves the educational outcomes in the entire state because guess what, competition improves results… policymakers on the Hill over the last four or five years have come because of what’s going on at a state level, because of what’s going on at a grassroots level. Families and organizations and faith communities and students are advocating for and asking for more parental empowerment, more parental choice for their kids.

Can we touch a little bit about the public support that you’re seeing, polling numbers that you’d like to share?

Tony de Nicola: About two months ago, we commissioned the newest poll that we did on school choice by Tony Fabrizio and associates… And it once again demonstrates what we all know that families across the spectrum, every demographic group, every political group, this is a 75%, almost 80% favorable issue for families who support school choice. And so it’s a high 80s for Republicans, it’s a 65% issue for Democrats, and it’s a 70% issue or plus for independents.

You all have rallied over 150 national and state groups. So what are you calling on those groups, grassroots advocates, and parents specifically to do as we watch this reconciliation process unfold?

Tony de Nicola: We actually have almost 200 coalition partners today… The question you asked is how can they be helpful? And it’s very simple. We love for their, the families that are on scholarships, the beneficiaries, their grassroots, supporters, their own donors and benefactors to reach out to members of Congress and to demonstrate to them, either in person or by email or by phone call or by letter writing, that they’re supporters of the ECCA and they’re encouraging their members of Congress to pass ECCA in the reconciliation bill that is moving through Congress right now.

Let’s turn to White House support… How significant is this White House backing?

Tony de Nicola: It’s incredibly significant. This White House, this president, this administration is fully behind what we’re doing… Over the last year or so, they’ve become big supporters of the Educational Choice for Children Act… the reason that ECCA is in the reconciliation bill and it’s moving forward is because this president, President Trump has said he supports it and he wants it to happen in this year.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the teachers unions because they are loud on Capitol Hill and they have a number of opponents calling this a scheme… what would you say to them about the ECCA proposal?

Tony de Nicola: At the end of the day, this is about empowering parents to choose the best school or academic environment for their children. It’s no more complicated than that. This is about children’s lives. This is about children’s education. This is about improving the overall educational outcomes in this country for each student and all students, and therefore for the country… Families want it, and children that benefit from it do better than children that don’t. The states that have it are performing better than states that don’t have it… And so you can call it a scheme. And I would say, absolutely. It’s a scheme to help parents help their kids become productive citizens. That’s all it is.

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