Guest Column: Congress Must Act Now To Empower Parents With Real School Choice

By Wendy Damron, Fits News, April 30, 2025

These are more than political words—they reflect a growing national consensus: that education must be tailored to the child, not the system. Every parent deserves the right to choose the best educational setting for their child. Every child deserves a chance to thrive.

That’s why Congress must act now to pass the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA)—a transformative federal proposal that empowers low- and middle-income families with real options.

Reintroduced this year as H.R. 833 and S. 292 and with support from President Donald Trump, ECCA is gaining unprecedented momentum in Washington, with more than 75 cosponsors in the House and 33 in the Senate. Here in South Carolina, we’re proud of the support from our congressional delegation, including Senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham, and Representatives Joe WilsonWilliam TimmonsNancy Mace and Sheri Biggs. Senator Scott is also Chairman of the Congressional School Choice Caucus in Washington.

ECCA creates a federal tax credit for individuals and corporations that donate to approved nonprofit scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). These SGOs, in turn, provide education scholarships to qualifying K-12 students—students whose families earn up to 300% of the area median income. These scholarships can be used for a wide range of educational expenses, from private or homeschool tuition to online coursework, tutoring, therapies, and curriculum materials.

The program is modeled after successful state initiatives, including those like South Carolina’s own Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF). Even better, ECCA’s design allows scholarships to stack with existing state-level school choice programs, maximizing impact for families.

Read the full op-ed by Wendy Damron via Fits News here.