South Dakota Partners in Education Executive Director Robert Satter testifies before the state House Education Committee on Jan. 24, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE — A legislator lacked evidence Wednesday for his claim that private school scholarships funded by tax credits save millions of dollars for state government.
The scholarship program is South Dakota Partners in Education . It gives insurance companies credits against state taxes on their premiums, equal to the amount of their donations to the program and up to a statewide cap of $3.5 million. Legislation under consideration at the state Capitol would raise the cap to $5 million.
State Sen. Jim Stalzer, R-Sioux Falls, told a legislative committee that the program saves the state $7.5 million annually. He said that’s the amount of state aid that would be required to send the program’s 2,500 students to public rather than private schools. Families of students in the program are required to meet low-income qualifications based on free and reduced price school lunch guidelines.