School Tuition Association of Yuma, Inc.

If you haven’t filed your 2020 Arizona tax return yet, you still have time to donate to STAY and receive a 100% credit on your Arizona income tax. Donations are used to fund scholarships for local children to attend a private school of their choice. Many of the kids who receive scholarships from STAY would not be able to attend private school without help. The deadline to donate has been extended to May 17th this year.

Arizona has announced the deadline to contribute to STOs like STAY for a 2020 Arizona tax credit has been extended to May 17th. This change comes as the state adjusted the individual tax return deadline to coincide with the new federal deadline. Arizona tax credits are a great way to keep money local and the Private School Tuition Tax Credit helps local children attend a private school of their choice. This is an option many of the families we serve wouldn’t have without help.

Voting for Yuma’s Best ends tomorrow! You can vote for your favorite local businesses here: https://bit.ly/3b7r50D  As you’re selecting your favorites, please keep in mind the many businesses that are committed to helping low-income kids in the Yuma Community! Our corporate donors have helped so many children and we think they are all #yumasbest ! Thanks again to all of them for helping provide #SchoolChoice to Yuma!

#YumaSTO; #ThinkYumaFirst, #GivingBack, #yumaaz, #yumaarizona, #yumankindness, #tuitionscholarship, #yumaschool, #education, #arizonataxcredit, #parentalchoice, #letmelearn, #loveyourschool, #aztax, #taxcreditscholarships, #yumacommunity, #yuma, #yumalife, #yumazing, #yumastrong

Mayor Nicholls came out to help STAY thank Charter Communications, Inc. (Spectrum) for their generous contribution supporting School Choice in Yuma! The Yuma community is truly blessed to have amazing corporate partners like Charter Communications. This donation is helping local low-income children attend private schools that meet their unique needs. For many low-income families, this choice wouldn’t be possible without support from businesses like Charter Communications.

Left to Right: Douglas Nicholls, Yuma Mayor; Felipe Monroig, Senior Director, Government Affairs – West Region, Charter Communications; Rex Pope, Executive Director of STAY; Caitlyn Pope, STAY Administrator

Merry Christmas from all of us at STAY!

#schoolchoice, #thinkyumafirst, #YumaSTO

It’s Giving Tuesday! You can support local School Choice through a contribution to STAY! Your contribution helps children attend a local private school. This is an option that isn’t available to many local children without financial support from organizations like STAY.

Tax credit contributions to STAY qualify for a dollar-for-dollar Arizona tax credit. If you don’t pay Arizona income tax, you can still contribute and take a charitable deduction on your federal tax return — STAY is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are incredibly grateful for the support of our donors who allow us to help local, low-income children attend a school of their choice!

#grateful, #schoolchoice, #thinkyumafirst, #YumaSTO

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the rights of parents to choose their children’s school, regardless of religious affiliation, through a school choice program. In Espinoza V. Montana Department of Revenue, the Court has ruled that state courts may not strike down a school choice program merely because it allows families to choose religious schools. The Court said that excluding religious options in a school choice program violates the religious freedom protection of the First Amendment. In the words of the ruling, “Drawing on ‘enduring American tradition,’ we have long recognized the rights of parents to direct ‘the religious upbringing’ of their children . . . . Many parents exercise that right by sending their children to religious schools, a choice protected by the Constitution.”

In 2015, the Montana Legislature passed a school choice program in which a $150 tax credit would be given to taxpayers who donated to nonprofit scholarship organizations. The organizations would then issue scholarships to low-income students and students with disabilities so they could attend a school of their choice. However, the Montana Supreme Court struck down the school choice program entirely because it allowed scholarship recipients to choose a religious school. This decision was based on the view that supporting religious schools through the school choice program was a violation of Montana’s Blaine Amendment, which is a provision introduced in the 1800’s.

Originally, Blaine Amendments (named for Congressman James G. Blaine) were adopted by many states as a way to prohibit Catholic schools from receiving public funds. At the time, many Catholic immigrants had come to the country. Catholic leaders wanted to open Catholic schools so their students would have an educational option that fit the Catholic community’s needs. However, there was strong anti-Catholic sentiment in the U.S. in the mid-1800s.

Thus, seeking to specifically discriminate against Catholics, Blaine introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would prohibit states from providing any tax money to any “religious sect,” which at the time specifically meant Catholic. In fact, most of the public schools at the time would be considered religious schools by today’s standards. That was okay with Blaine, because they were Protestant, not Catholic.

Although Blaine’s amendment failed in Congress, by just a few votes in the Senate, similar amendments were adopted by individual states. Today, many states have these Blaine Amendments that are based on religious discrimination and bigotry.

The Court ruling of June 30, 2020 is a landmark victory in the fight for School Choice and against religious discrimination. The antiquated, discriminatory Blaine Amendments have been weakened and it’s about time! In the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, “This doctrine, born of bigotry, should be buried now.” In it’s ruling, the Court said, “A State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”

For additional reading:
Institute for Justice Press Release: https://bit.ly/2Bn71Yk
EdChoice Article on Blaine Amendments: https://bit.ly/3ijHik8