ThinkTankWeekly

In Today’s Education Landscape, What Is a School?

CATO | 2026-10-01 | economy

Topics: United States

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English Summary

The article critiques proposed Treasury regulations for the federal scholarship tax credit (FSTC), arguing that the proposed definition of "school" is overly restrictive and flawed. By relying on the Coverdell definition, Treasury risks excluding thousands of eligible students, particularly homeschoolers, due to variations in state-level definitions of educational institutions. The author argues that the regulation should interpret "school" broadly, recognizing that the law's intent was to support education itself, not specific physical buildings. Policy advocates must challenge this regulatory definition to ensure the FSTC maximizes educational freedom and remains consistent with Congress's broad intent.

中文摘要

本文批判了財政部針對聯邦獎學金稅收抵免(FSTC)所擬定的法規,認為其對「學校」的定義過於限制且有缺陷。由於過度依賴Coverdell的定義,財政部有風險排除數千名符合資格的學生,特別是居家自學(homeschoolers)學生,因為各州對教育機構的定義存在差異。作者主張,該法規應廣泛解釋「學校」一詞,認識到法律的本意是支持教育本身,而非特定的實體建築物。政策倡議者必須挑戰此類監管定義,以確保FSTC能夠最大化教育自由,並與國會的廣泛立法意圖保持一致。

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