President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” contains a major victory for school choice advocates — but Democrat-run states are left to make a decision about whether they will accept the opportunity to expand education options or cater to teachers unions.
The budget reconciliation package passed earlier this month contains a provision that allows the federal government to subsidize private-school tuition through tax credits for donations to nonprofit scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). But language in the bill clarifies that governors must opt into the program, and Democrat-led states “may reject it, derailing school-choice advocates’ goal for a nationwide effort,” the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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The crux of the debate is that public school advocates, teachers unions, and their progressive allies argue such a program will hurt public education and siphon money to private schools. Left-wing teachers union heads have decried voucher program as a supposedly “obscene betrayal of American working families.”
But school choice advocates say vouchers will give families more options outside their neighborhood schools — an issue especially important to parental rights advocates who say parents should be able to move their children from failing schools. They also argue that allowing schools to be more competitive could drive improved quality of education.
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“There will be a lot of pressure in blue states not to opt in,” John Schilling told the publication. Schilling is an adviser to the American Federation for Children, which was a leading champion of the voucher legislation.
Vladimir Kogan, a political-science professor at Ohio State University, told the publication the situation echoes Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, which some GOP-led states opted out of.
“This is going to be the blue-state equivalent,” Kogan said.
The report detailed how opting in will be an “easy call” for most Republican governors, many of whom have backed school choice and private-school vouchers in their own states.
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However, Democrat governors “will face pressure from school associations, including teachers unions, to opt out of the new federal tax credit.” Teachers unions are notably huge backers of Democrats; for example, an Open Secrets report revealed that 98 percent of political donations from the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, went to Democrat candidates during the previous election cycle.
“On the other hand, states are usually reluctant to turn down federal money, and ultimately about 40 states, including a number of red ones, have expanded Medicaid,” the report reads.
Spokespeople for several Democrat governors told WSJ they were reviewing the voucher program, while others did not respond to request for comment by time of publication.
The provision allowing the federal government to financially back private schools was passed after decades of effort from conservatives and school choice advocates.
It specifically allows taxpayers to redirect a portion of their tax bill to SGOs. Essentially, taxpayers who donate to those groups would receive federal tax credits up to $1,700, and then the SGO would issue stipends to families for private-school tuition and other permitted education-related expenses.
Families will be eligible to receive scholarships if their income is not greater than three times that of the median in the area where they live.
It is unclear how much the voucher program will ultimately cost or how many scholarships it will fund, according to the report. Much of the cost will likely depend on how many states opt in and how many taxpayers choose to participate. Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the program will cost $25.9 billion through 2034. School choice advocates said there must be a large-scale marketing campaign to make taxpayers aware of the program.
The provision goes into effect in 2027 and has no expiration date.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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