Over the last few weeks, a significant victory was reached in the negotiations for school choice in the reconciliation bill. As AACS reported previously, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) was added to the “One, Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill that passed the House Ways and Means Committee. ECCA is a bill establishing a federal tax credit scholarship program that will advance school choice in every state. A key component of the bill was language that protected the religious liberty of participating schools, ensuring that Christian schools, SGOs, and parents would be protected in the choice program. However, when the bill was incorporated into the larger reconciliation bill, the religious liberty language was stripped out, prompting action from an ad hoc coalition of religious educational organizations that organized quickly to communicate with members of Congress on the importance of maintaining this protective language.

Mr. Jamison Coppola, director of the AACS Washington Office, had multiple meetings and conversations with Speaker Johnson’s staff, congressional offices, committee staffers, the White House, and multiple conservative organizations about the importance of ensuring that the autonomy and mission of faith-based schools be protected in the school choice program. Faith-motivated schools make up approximately 75% of all private schools in the nation, and participation of these schools is essential to the success of a school choice program. However, without assurance that their religious liberty is protected, many religious schools will not participate, limiting the program’s success. As this important message was communicated to congressional offices, particularly those in congressional leadership positions, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson chose to add the religious liberty language back into the bill before a vote by the full House. 

This is a significant victory for school choice in the bill. “We’re deeply grateful that Speaker Johnson recognizes the importance of protecting religious liberty and for his action returning these protections to the federal school choice program,” stated Mr. Coppola. “We believe ECCA will be good for students and families across the country, and an essential part of the success of this program will be protecting the religious liberty of Christian schools, SGOs, and the parents that participate.”

The AACS continues to advocate for maintaining the protective religious liberty language in ECCA as the bill moves through Congress. The AACS and other religious educational organizations are also advocating for a fix that addresses how private schools provide services for students with disabilities. As the bill currently stands, private schools participating in the school choice program would be required to provide special education services for any student who needs an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). While religious private schools work diligently to meet the needs of all students in their schools, the requirement to establish a system for screening all students and providing IEP services would prevent the vast majority of private schools from being able to participate. The bill passed the full house on May 22 by the narrowest of margins 215-214. We invite you to listen to the recent episode of the AACS Today podcast, in which Mr. Coppola and Mr. Matt Ticzkus discuss the important issue of protecting religious liberty in the federal school choice program.