Low-income students deserve school options

Laura Welch, president of the Illinois National Organization of Women, surely does not like the Invest in Kids program that was set up by Illinois elected state officials and signed into law by our then governor in 2017 when both the Illinois Senate and Illinois House were controlled by Democrats.

The voluntary program has specific guidelines for student applicants to follow and was originated to give parents an opportunity to choose where they want their children to attend school based on their priorities for their children's education.

Ms. Welch seems to talk in generalities about the types of schools and curriculums parents may choose for their children, but the facts are: "Qualified school" means a non-public school located in Illinois and recognized by the board pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the School Code or that is registered and becomes recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the School Code prior to receiving scholarship funds pursuant to the Act.

In addition, Public Act 102-0016 amended the Invest in Kids Act to allow contributions to be made for scholarships to qualified technical academies in addition to other qualified non-public schools. Qualified recipients for the scholarships are based on family income levels only.

Since parents are children's first teachers, shouldn't they have the opportunity to choose where their children continue to receive an education from qualified and state recognized schools regardless if Ms. Welch approves of them?

Donna McGuire

Elk Grove Village