Nakanishi introduces bill to promote private school, homeschooling

Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi, R-Lodi, has introduced a bill that would give parents a $500 tax credit if they educate their children at home or send them to private school.

But the assemblyman is pretty frank when it comes to discussing the bill's slim prospects.

"A lot of the bills we're bringing out may not pass committee, but we're making a statement," Nakanishi said Monday.

Assembly Bill 2605 would save taxpayers about $150,000 for each child's K-12 education, Nakanishi said.

He said he wants to broach the tax credit idea and get people to talk about it.

The idea comes in response to the state's projected $16 billion budget deficit, and Nakanishi said he was looking for a way to reduce the deficit. The tax credit is one way, he said.

Lodi Education Association President Sue Kenmotsu said the bill is bad for public schools, even though she is not opposed to home schooling or private schooling.

"The word 'abysmal' comes to mind," Kenmotsu said, referring to the tax credit. "Just thinking it through, wouldn't it take money away from public schools?"

If a student is no longer enrolled in public school, the school will no longer receive state "average daily attendance" funds for that student. With California ranked 49th out of 50 states in per-capita state funding, Kenmotsu said she opposes any legislation that removes funding for public schools.

"We're not going back to an era when only the rich knew how to read and write," she said.

Len Casanega, interim superintendent of the Lodi Unified School District, said he hasn't read enough about the bill to comment.

Hale said the fate of the tax credit bill doesn't have a major chance of being signed into law, not with 48 Democrats and 32 Republicans in the Assembly.

"There are three reasons you introduce a bill," Nakanishi said. "One is you know it's going to pass. Another is that a constituent asked you to carry a bill. And the third one is you're trying to make a statement."

Because Friday was the last day that legislators could introduce a bill this year, Nakanishi's bill leaves out some vital details as it heads to the Assembly Education Committee, of which Nakanishi is a member.

One detail is to clear up language to make the tax credit annual. The current bill doesn't specify whether the credit is onetime or annual, Hale said. Secondly, Hale plans to limit the tax credit to families with income less than four times the federal poverty level. For a family of four, that is $82,600 per year.

"This is a longshot," Hale said. "It's an attempt to have creative solutions and look at the budget."

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.