WASHINGTON—Oklahoma lawmakers this week announced they will send a bill to Gov. Kevin Stitt to sign that will give families a refundable personal-use tax credit, closely resembling an education savings account, worth $5,000 per student.

Heritage Foundation research fellow Jason Bedrick made the following statement on this development:

“Today is a great day for Oklahoma families. Gov. Kevin Stitt, House Speaker Charles McCall, and Senate President Greg Treat deserve great credit for working together to expand educational opportunity for all families.

“Oklahoma will now be the seventh state to enact a universal education choice policy and the first to enact a substantial refundable, personal-use tax credit for K-12 education expenses. This policy empowers all Oklahoma families to choose the learning environments that align with their values and best meet their children’s needs.”

Background: The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate both passed Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s compromise education plan earlier this month. The plan includes a refundable personal-use tax credit worth $5,000 per student in the first year, with priority going to families earning less than $250,000 per year. After reaching a deal earlier this week, the House will now release the bill to Gov. Stitt, who declared his intention to sign it. Read more about it here.