Nevada
Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program
- Tax-Credit Scholarship
- Enacted 2015
- Launched 2015
Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship allows corporations to claim a 100% tax credit for contributions to approved Scholarship-Granting Organizations (SGOs), nonprofits that provide private school scholarships, counted against the Modified Business Tax. Taxpayers may carry forward a tax credit under this program for five years. The SGOs then provide private school scholarships to families who meet the income requirements.
We do not administer this program.
Jump Links
-
58%
of Families with Children Income-Eligible Statewide
-
1,827
Students Participating (2023–2024)
-
165
Schools Participating (2022–2023)
-
6
Scholarship Organizations (2023–2024)
-
$5,263
Average Scholarship Value (2023–2024)
-
47%
Value as a Percentage of Public School Per-Student Spending
Nevada’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program Participation
Student Funding
Use of Funds
Parents and guardians of private school students can apply the scholarship toward tuition, fees, and transportation costs associated with attending the private school.
Funding Amount and Source
Private donors fund this program by donating to SGOs and receiving tax credits for their donation, up to certain limits. Scholarship amounts are determined by SGOs up to a legal maximum. The maximum scholarship limit increases by the Consumer Price Index increase each year and is currently $9,810. Total credits claimed cannot exceed $6.7 million, meaning roughly 1,800 students can participate, or less than 1% of Nevada’s K–12 student population.
(Last updated July 14, 2024)
Student Eligibility
All students who receive scholarships through this program must come from families whose household incomes are at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) ($93,600 for a family of four in 2024–2025).
(Last updated July 14, 2024)
EdChoice Expert Feedback
Nevada’s tax-credit scholarship program helps over 1,000 students access schools that are the right fit for them, but policymakers could do more to expand educational opportunity. Eligibility for the scholarships is limited to 300 percent of the federal poverty line. Half of Nevada students are eligible for a scholarship and less than one percent of students statewide actually use a scholarship. The average scholarship size is about $5,600, which is about 55 percent of the average expenditure per student at Nevada’s district schools, though the cap on scholarship values is significantly higher (about $9,424) and automatically increases with the Consumer Price Index. Tax credits are worth 100 percent of the value of the contributions to scholarship organizations, but only $6.7 million in tax credits are available annually, which is equivalent to less than 0.2 percent of Nevada’s K–12 revenue. To expand access to educational choice, Nevada policymakers should dramatically increase the available tax credits and expand eligibility to all students (prioritizing scholarships based on need). The program could also be converted into an education savings account to ensure that all students have access to the education that’s the right fit for them, whether private school or a customized course of education. Nevada’s scholarship program avoids unnecessary and counterproductive regulations. (Last updated December 18, 2023)Rules and Regulations
Program Guidelines
- Income Limit: 300% x FPL
- Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
- Enrollment Cap: None
- Scholarship Cap: $9,810
- Testing Mandates: Nationally norm-referenced tests
- Credit Value: 100%
- Per Donor Credit Cap: None
- Total Tax Credit Cap: $6,655,000 / Budget Cap: $6.7 Million
- Special Needs Pathway: None
Participant and Family Guidelines
- Click Here for the Program Administrator’s Parent Handbook
- Education Requirements: N/A
- Parent Supplemented Funds/Scholarships: Allowed
- Miscellaneous: N/A
Education Provider Guidelines
- Accreditation/Approval: Must be licensed by the Nevada Department of Education
- Employment Standards: N/A
- Nondiscrimination: Federal
- Calendar/Curriculum/Attendance: Quarterly attendance reporting
- Financial: N/A
- Miscellaneous: N/A
Scholarship Organization Guidelines
- Scholarship to Contribution Ratio: May not spend more than 5% of its donations on the administration of the fund
- State Reporting:
- Demographic information
- Each grant amount
- Manner in which grants are used
- Number of applications in which grants were not awarded and reason
- Financial: N/A
- Award Priority: N/A
- Miscellaneous:
- May not own or operate any school in the state that receives scholarships under this program
- May not limit gifts to a single school
- Must be a certified 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
- May not limit gifts to specific pupils
- Must keep records of the academic progress of scholarship recipients
(Last updated October 15, 2024)
Governing Statutes
NRS 363A.139; NRS 363B.119; NRS 388D.250 through 280
(Last updated July 14, 2024)
Legal History
On October 7, 2021, the Nevada Supreme Court in Morency v. State ruled against parents who challenged the state legislature’s elimination of the escalator clause in the state’s tax credit scholarship program. Parents alleged that the bill was passed improperly, with a simple majority vote, which parents claimed conflicted with a constitutional requirement for a two-thirds vote. This case began when parents realized elimination of the escalator clause could cause hundreds of students to lose scholarship funding and could lead to eventual elimination of the program. The court held that the constitutional provision in question, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for bills that generate, create, or increase public revenue, did not apply. The tax credit scholarship program is still in effect, but the escalator clause has been repealed. Morency v. State, Dep’t of Educ., 137 Nev.Adv.Op.63 (Nev. 2021).
(Last updated July 14, 2024)