TUITION TAX CREDITS

The American Federation of Teachers has led the fight against proposals to provide a tuition tax credit to parents who choose to use non-public and parochial schools. After a protracted and difficult fight, this legislation was defeated in the 95th Congress. Most recently, an AFT-led coalition spearheaded a campaign in the District of Columbia that defeated tuition tax credits by a 9 to 1 margin.

This overwhelming rejection of tuition tax credits by the voters has been ignored by President Reagan. He has promised to send legislation to the Congress providing a tuition tax credit virtually identical to the one defeated by the Congress in 1978. Unfortunately, many of the factors that contributed to our successful fight against tuition tax credit in 1978 have changed.

In 1978, the White House was occupied by a President who vowed to veto any tuition tax credit proposal that reached his desk. In 1982, the President is leading the charge in favor of tuition tax credits.

In 1978 the senate voted 56 to 41 against elementary and secondary tax credits. Today, the vote in the senate is strictly a toss-up and could go either way. The U.S. House of Representatives also has an increased number of conservatives, many of whom could support a tuition tax credit bill. We now have a President who is trying to destroy aid to public education in order to pay for his tax credit scheme.

In order to find the funds to pay for a multi-billion dollar tuition tax credit bill, President Reagan has already cut billions of dollars from aid to education. His new budget proposals, if enacted, will cause additional millions of handicapped and disadvantaged children to lose the services of hundreds of thousands of dedicated teachers and other personnel in order to find the funds to pay for this unconstitutional proposal.

In addition to damaging education, tuition tax credits would further polarize our society. The rise of exclusionary academies is truly alarming. A tuition tax credit would fuel the establishment of a private school system based on considerations such as race, creed, ethnic background, and would destroy the role of public education as the central democratizing institution in American life.

President Reagan has opposed eliminating the regulation that prohibits tax-exempt status for schools that discriminate, while at the same time he has promised that his tuition tax credit bill will contain strong prohibitions against racial discrimination. His claims to the con­trary notwithstanding, if enacted, tuition tax credits will lead to a re-segregation of education and President Reagan will be responsible for this tragedy. We must make sure that this does not happen.

The fight this year will be more difficult than ever, but it can be won if the membership of our union makes an even greater effort than in past fights. Teachers working together with parents, school board members, civil rights organizations, our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, and others who are concerned with quality public education can form an unbeatable movement against this proposal and in favor of strengthening our public schools. We must start by unifying our own efforts. In 1978, we decided to not support candidates who oppose our position on tuition tax credits; that policy has served us well.

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers stands firmly opposed to tuition tax credits, urges the President to withdraw his proposal and calls upon the Congress to defeat any and all bills whose purpose is to establish such credits; and

RESOLVED, that all locals join in the fight to defeat tuition tax credits by urging AFT members and their families to write or call their senators or representatives, form a coalition with the local school boards, the PTA, school administration, central labor body, the National Education Association, civil rights groups, and all other groups interested in the survival of public education; and

RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent to U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators and to President Reagan, to the president of the AFL-CIO and the presidents of AFL-CIO affiliated unions. We must also recognize that tuition tax credits are a political issue that is debated and decided in the campaigns for house, senate and the presidency; and

RESOLVED:

That AFT-COPE give first priority for financial contributions to those endorsed incumbents who have supported the AFT in its fight to maintain the public school system and opposed tuition tax credits for non-public elementary and secondary education.

That this convention urges all AFT locals and state federations to withhold endorsements or any other assistance from incumbents who have supported tuition tax credits for non-public elementary and secondary education, except where the incumbent has indicated that in the future he or she will not support a tax credit for tuition paid to private and parochial elementary and secondary schools.

In congressional and senatorial races where there are no incumbents, candidates who do not share the AFT's position on tuition tax credits should not be endorsed for public office.

The AFT will continue to work with locals and state federations to coordinate the policy.

By adopting this plan of action, we can again defeat this plan to dismantle the public schools and turn government's attention to its real task; that of improving education for the vast majority of our people who rely on the schools as an indispensable element in their hopes for a better life.