School leaders celebrate ‘success’ of private school tax credits, governor pushes for expansion

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s governor called for the expansion of the state’s private school tax credit program at a rally Wednesday celebrating its implementation.

Gov. Kevin Stitt, who spoke at the rally attended by about 200 students, parents and educators, said it’s time to remove the spending cap for Oklahoma’s Parental Tax Credit program. The cap is currently at $200 million for the 2025 tax year and will increase to the maximum of $250 million, as set by state law, for the 2026 tax year. 

The program, which was created in 2023, offers a maximum credit of $7,500 to families sending their children to private schools in Oklahoma. The program received over 31,000 applications for the 2025-26 school year on the first day of applications.

“There’s so many great jobs out here,” Stitt said. “I’m trying to make sure that every kid has more internships, more apprenticeships, and has more access to what’s possible. Because God uniquely makes every single person differently with different desires and abilities, and it’s our job as leaders to make sure we can point them in the right direction.”

Senate Bill 229 from Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, would have removed the spending cap but did not make it out of its assigned Senate committee this session. 

The Republican governor said he would like the Legislature to ensure that recipients of the tax credit don’t have it taken away next year. Stitt said he wants to see people “grandfathered in” so families don’t have to reapply for the tax credit. 

The program has faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks amid reports that just over 45% of tax credit’s spring semester recipients were from households that earned more than $150,000 a year, according to a January analysis by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. More than a quarter of participating households earned over $250,000 a year, the program’s highest income bracket. 

Ed Gray, a parent of a student at Trinity School in Oklahoma City, said the tax credit and scholarships are the reason he is able to afford his son’s tuition.

“I did it because it was the best situation for my son and as a single parent, being extremely busy at work, I did not have time to navigate the requirements for scholarships or other credits,” he said. “… Today, my son’s tuition is almost fully covered by these programs, and he has continued eligibility.”

James Timberlake, the executive director of the Council of Oklahoma Private Education, said the tax credit program is “working” and has given working families the chance to send their children to schools that “align with their values.” 

“Since then, more than 27,000 students have been approved for the tax credit program,” he said. “The largest group of those students, some 16,445 to be exact, are those families who are in the priority household income tax brackets.”

The “priority” applicants include households earning up to $150,000 per year. Any households past this threshold receive the tax credit on a first-come-first-serve basis.