DeVos, long a proponent of school choice, has made little progress in pushing a signature initiative. Her budget proposals, which have sought to fund private school vouchers and public charter schools, have failed to garner support among Democrats or Republicans in Congress.
The program is meant to offer what the official described Wednesday as a more politically palatable alternative than past efforts by the Trump administration to enforce school choice, like a national voucher program that would divert federal funding from public schools.
The tax credit proposal would be optional for states, the senior official said. Individuals would be allowed to contribute up to 10 percent of their adjusted gross income, and they would be able to give to any program in the country. Such donations would allow individuals to receive a tax credit for the full amount of their contribution.
Businesses would be allowed to give up to 5 percent of their net taxable income.
States would have full discretion to determine the programs eligible for the scholarships, the department official said, meaning that could include private and home schools, but also certification or apprenticeship programs, advanced and remedial courses, special-education services and after-school programs. States would also identify which students are eligible for the funding, to be known as the Education Freedom Scholarships.
DeVos will be joined by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., on Thursday when she is to announce the proposal.
In an interview Wednesday with The Daily Caller, Cruz said that he planned to introduce the Education Freedom Scholarship and Opportunity Act, which would provide up to $10 billion in federal tax credits a year to people who donate to state-based programs. Cruz said he drafted the bill with the Education and Labor departments.
The program is likely to receive support in the White House. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has praised a tax credit scholarship program in Florida, one of more than 15 such programs in the country, which has sent thousands of low-income students to private schools. In his State of the Union address Feb. 5, Trump called on Congress to “pass school choice.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.