Special Needs Tax Credit Bill Filed

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Special Needs Tax Credit Bill Filed

Special Report - March 22, 2011

A bill introduced last week in the North Carolina General Assembly would give a tax credit and provide greater educational freedom to parents with special needs children. The bill, HB 344—Tax Credits for Children with Disabilities, would give parents, if deemed eligible, an educational tax credit of up to $3,000 per child, per semester, at a nonpublic or tuition-charging public school. Homeschooling families able to provide the state with documented expenses would also be eligible for the credit.

Eligibility for the tax credit would rest on two conditions:

An official determination “based on an evaluation conducted by the appropriate public school system” that the child does, in fact, have special needs and requires an “Individualized Education Plan (IEP).”
Proof that the child “was enrolled in and attended a public school for at least the two preceding academic semesters.” Should the bill be enacted, this requirement would be lessened to one academic semester after July 1, 2016.

Primary sponsors for the bill are: Representatives Paul “Skip” Stam (R-Wake), Shirley Randleman (R-Wilkes), Jonathan Jordan (R-Ashe), and Bert Jones (Una-Rockingham). The bill has secured bipartisan support, as nineteen other representatives, of both political parties, have signed on as bill cosponsors.

In an email to supporters, Darrell Allison, President of Parents for Education Freedom in North Carolina, wrote: “the great thing about this bill, other than helping families, is that it will save the state nearly $41 million over the next five years.”

HB 344 has been assigned to the House Education Committee. If approved, the measure is scheduled for consideration in the House Finance Committee.

Related resources:
Committee to Consider Special Needs Tax Credit - June 15, 2009
Tax Credits for Special Needs Children - June 11, 2008