Parents could get a property tax discount if they choose not to send their child to their home school districts.

Rep. Ross Diamond, R-Lebanon, introduced House Bill 2803, the Emergency Real Property Tax Relief Act. The legislation would create a tax discount for academic years when the COVID-19 disaster emergency is in effect.

Taxpayers would have to total all of the tuition and school-related fees they pay and submit them to their local school district. Once they do so, they would receive a discount on that year’s school taxes. The discount on real property taxes could not be more than the taxpayer’s real property tax liability.

“With a new school year fast approaching and various COVID-19 mitigation schemes being considered by the commonwealth’s school districts, many parents are seeking educational alternatives to avoid having to send their children to a facility where the mitigation policy is not to their liking,” Diamond wrote in his legislative memorandum. “Whether those mitigation plans are – in a parent’s opinion – too strong or too mild, we need to make every effort to allow them to seek out educational opportunities that fit their needs.”

Each school district’s tax collector would be required to provide a report to the state Education Department regarding the total number of resident taxpayers qualifying for the discount, the total number of taxpayers’ dependents who attended an alternate public or nonpublic school, and the total amount of discounts on real property taxes provided to taxpayers. The report would then be given to state legislators for review.

“No parent should be forced to send their child to a school which is not enacting mitigation policies the parent deems appropriate,” Diamond wrote. “In fulfilling our constitutional duty regarding education, we are obligated to make every effort to make sure parents are able to be confident in how their children will be educated during this disaster emergency.”