Gov. Kevin Stitt is expected to advocate again this year for eliminating the cap on how much Oklahoma can spend to help children attend private schools, though the state hasn’t hit its current limit.
With the 2026 legislative session set to begin Feb. 2, Stitt remains committed to removing the $250 million spending cap on the Parental Choice Tax Credit program, his press secretary Tevis Hillis told Oklahoma Voice. The tax credits provide $5,000 to $7,500 to families to offset the cost of private school tuition and fees.
“Demand far exceeds current funding, leaving families on waitlists,” Hillis said. “His goal is simple: let more kids attend the school of their parents’ choice.”
However, the Oklahoma Tax Commission confirmed to Oklahoma Voice it hasn’t had to turn away any applicants this school year because of the budget limit.
The Tax Commission reported last week that nearly $1 million in tax credits were still available for the 2025-26 school year with under two weeks left before the application window closes. Families have been able to apply since Feb. 18 of last year, according to the commission’s website.
When asked for clarification, Hillis said her reference to waitlists “pertains to students seeking those schooling options.”
The Oklahoma Legislature would have to agree to adjust the program’s spending cap, but lawmakers didn’t give even a committee hearing to a Senate bill last year that sought to remove the limit entirely. State officials estimated the policy would cost the state $13 million.
The state Senate’s top leader has continued to express reservations about uncapping the program.
“Any changes must be done responsibly,” Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said in a statement this week. “Removing the cap entirely at this time could lead to unintended consequences and strain the state’s ability to ensure the program is meeting its intended purpose. Our priority is making sure those who need help the most are the primary beneficiaries.”
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, didn’t return a request for comment.
The state is projected to have $692 million less to spend than the year before, raising doubts about the feasibility of major new investments.
Stitt first advocated for eliminating the maximum spending limit on the Parental Choice Tax Credits in his state budget proposal last year. In a recent guest column in The Oklahoman, the governor pledged he would work this year to make the tax credits available to more families.
So far, only one new bill has been filed that would expand the program. Senate Bill 1389 from Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, would allow the spending limit to increase by 20% if at least 90% of the available funds are claimed.
Daniels filed last year’s bill to completely remove the spending cap. She said her new legislation is a “much more fiscally conservative, responsible way to go.”
“My bill this year allows us to grow the program in a responsible, measured way because we now see that it is very successful, and more Oklahoma families are choosing to take advantage of it,” Daniels said. “We should allow that credit limit to increase gradually as participation increases.”
Stitt and Republican lawmakers have celebrated the Parental Choice Tax Credit program, created in 2023, as a way to help financially disadvantaged families leave public schools and access the private school of their choice.
Legislative Democrats have long criticized the policy for giving funds to wealthy families and for diverting millions of dollars that they say should instead go to public schools, which educate the vast majority of Oklahoma students.
Last week’s report from the Tax Commission shows the state so far has spent $249 million this school year on tax credits for 39,485 students. Just over 3,700 of those students had attended a public school the semester before the 2025-26 academic year, according to the report.
Students who qualified for the $7,500 maximum tax credit made up the largest share, 28.4%, of awarded applicants, according to an Oklahoma Voice analysis. These are children from households that earn no more than $75,000 a year or receive income-based government benefits like SNAP and Medicaid.
The state spent $79.6 million on private school tax credits for these students.
The second-most-awarded group of applications, 27.3%, came from families with a yearly income between $75,001 and $150,000. These households, which qualify for $7,000 per student, collectively received more than $72 million from the program.
Households earning over $250,000 a year were the third-most common, representing 24.5% of total recipients. Oklahoma spent $48 million this school year to support the private school costs of these families, who qualify for $5,000 per student.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence.
