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Public Funds Public Schools 8/25/25 Public Funds Public Schools 8/25/25

Federal Voucher Program – FAQs

The expansion of private school vouchers through the inclusion of a federal voucher scheme in the budget reconciliation bill passed in July is part of a broader assault on public education designed to privatize one of the most important common goods underpinning American democracy. Opting in to the federal program (the state’s choice), even to use voucher money for public education students, broadly endangers public education and opens the door to further voucher expansion, whether vouchers are already available in a given state or not.

Illinois Families for Public Schools 8/25/25 Illinois Families for Public Schools 8/25/25

Big Ugly Bill Implications for Our Public Schools

These slides summarize the impact of the national voucher program and cuts to SNAP/Medicaid in the Trump administration's budget reconciliation bill.

Public Funds Public Schools 8/21/25 Public Funds Public Schools 8/21/25

States Must Reject Harmful Voucher Program

The federal voucher program contained in the budget reconciliation bill passed in early July will divert federal tax dollars from the U.S. Treasury and from services, including public education, that Americans rely on, to give to private and religious schools that pick and choose whom they educate and openly discriminate against some students and families.

Jessica Alcantara and Laura Petty 8/21/25 Jessica Alcantara and Laura Petty 8/21/25

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Devastate Public Schools. America’s Kids Will Pay the Price

This week, Republican lawmakers are attempting to pass a budget reconciliation bill that pays for unprecedented handouts to the wealthiest Americans on the backs of cuts to programs that benefit most people. Hidden in this budget package before the House is a national private school voucher program funded through tax breaks for the wealthy that threatens to dismantle our system of public schools.

Bella DiMarco 8/21/25 Bella DiMarco 8/21/25

Directional Signals: A New Analysis of the Evolving Private School Choice Landscape

Three years ago, Arizona became the first state to allow all students—regardless of income or need—to use public dollars for private school tuition and other educational expenses. The move marked a sweeping shift in the scale and scope of school choice in the United States.

Southern Education Foundation 8/21/25 Southern Education Foundation 8/21/25

Here is the Truth: School Vouchers Just Don’t Work

The table, which is linked, highlights key student achievement results from six southern states. The chart shows that none of the selected school voucher programs with publicly accessible data demonstrably met their goals of increasing student achievement across grade levels, in specific subjects, or on statewide college-readiness assessments.

Matt Barnum 8/21/25 Matt Barnum 8/21/25

New Federal Tax Credit Boosts School Choice—but Blue States Face Big Decision

School-choice advocates won a major victory with President Trump’s tax megabill—but it comes with a catch.

The federal government will now subsidize private-school tuition, via unusually generous tax credits for donations to nonprofits. However, governors must opt into the program. Democratic-led states may reject it, derailing school-choice advocates’ goal for a nationwide effort.

Garry Rayno 8/21/25 Garry Rayno 8/21/25

Distant Dome: Education Freedom Account Expansion Will Be Costly

The parents of the 11,000 students who applied for grants from the newly opened vault in the state treasury are not the ones advocates tout as the beneficiary of the Education Freedom Account program if New Hampshire resembles other state’s experiences when they transitioned to “universal vouchers.”

Chandra Madafferi 8/21/25 Chandra Madafferi 8/21/25

Labor Voices: Hometown schools at risk from federal voucher program

Whether it’s the buzz of a Friday night football game, the excitement of a school play or the familiar faces in the school pick-up line, our hometown public schools are at the heart of who we are as Michiganians.

But a new national school voucher program enacted as part of the recently passed federal spending plan could have devastating impacts on school communities in towns across Michigan.

Senator Mazie Hirono 8/21/25 Senator Mazie Hirono 8/21/25

Scamming Our Schools: Robbing Our Students’ Futures to Line Their Pockets

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led a spotlight forum focused on the harmful consequences the Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” will have on students, parents, teachers, and schools across the country. Specifically, the forum highlights the school voucher-related provisions from the bill, which would divert billions of dollars in taxpayer funding to create the first ever national school voucher program.

National Coalition for Public Education 8/21/25 National Coalition for Public Education 8/21/25

Latest News

The National Coalition for Public Education monthly compilation of news article on voucher programs.

Jackie Huff 8/21/25 Jackie Huff 8/21/25

Voucher programs threaten the promise of public education

Today, we face a troubling trend. The push for voucher programs that redirect public funds to private schools threatens to abandon the fundamental promise of public education. While these programs sound appealing on the surface, they risk dismantling the very foundation that makes American education a beacon of opportunity for all.

Carl Davis 8/21/25 Carl Davis 8/21/25

Megabill Takes Cap Off Unprecedented Private School Voucher Tax Credit, Potentially Raising Cost by Tens of Billions Relative to Earlier Version

The tax and spending legislation signed on Friday by President Trump will create an unprecedented, dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit designed to support private and religious K-12 schools. The credit will fully reimburse donors for the first $1,700 they give to groups that hand out tuition vouchers to attend private schools. There is no other cause—not children’s hospitals, veterans’ groups, or disaster relief—that taxpayers can contribute to and see the entire cost of their contribution bankrolled by the federal government.

Laura Hancock, cleveland.com 8/21/25 Laura Hancock, cleveland.com 8/21/25

Judge rules Ohio’s EdChoice private school voucher program unconstitutional

A Franklin County judge has ruled that Ohio’s EdChoice school voucher programs are unconstitutional, delivering a victory to public school advocates and setting the stage for a likely appeal on a case over education funding in the state.

May Roberts at Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy 8/21/25 May Roberts at Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy 8/21/25

What You Need to Know About the National Private School Voucher Proposal

School vouchers allow families to use public funds to pay for their children’s private school tuition. School voucher programs enacted across the country – using tax credits, grants, and savings accounts to divert public funding to pay for private education – have consistently demonstrated that states with voucher programs tend to expand the programs over time. These expansions dramatically increase the amount of public funds diverted to private education while state investments in public education remain stagnant or decrease. Despite the numerous negative consequences of using publicly funded vouchers to pay for K-12 private education expenses,1 policy makers across the country continue to propose similar programs.

Norín Dollard, PhD and Esteban Leonardo Santis, PhD at Florida Policy Institute 8/21/25 Norín Dollard, PhD and Esteban Leonardo Santis, PhD at Florida Policy Institute 8/21/25

Federal Voucher System — Like Florida’s — Would Divert Funding to Private Schools and Home-Schoolers

The reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives includes a federal tax credit voucher that would provide taxpayer-funded scholarships to pay for tuition at private schools and for home-schooled students. This $5-billion tax credit would divert funding that would otherwise go into federal coffers. This part of the reconciliation bill would make vouchers available to students in every state, even in those states where voters have opposed them like Kentucky, Colorado, and Nebraska, most recently.

American Federation for Teachers and the National Coalition for Public Education 8/21/25 American Federation for Teachers and the National Coalition for Public Education 8/21/25

Parents and Allies Oppose National Private School Voucher Program

Policymakers join parents, students, educators and allies to discuss how the national private school voucher program in the budget reconciliation bill would shift resources from public schools to wealthy people and private schools.

Jeff Bryant 8/21/25 Jeff Bryant 8/21/25

Trump and Republicans Want Taxpayers to Fund Their Pet Project: Private Schools

When is a “school choice” proposal not really about school choice? In the budget bill that Republicans rushed through the House on May 12, 2025, school choice is just a cover-up for tax relief for the rich.

Eric Lawrence Frazier 8/21/25 Eric Lawrence Frazier 8/21/25

The School Voucher Debate – How School Choice Affects Low-Income Communities and Housing

The school choice movement, heavily supported by the Trump administration, aims to expand access to private and charter schools by redirecting public education funds through vouchers. These programs allow families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition, but they come with serious consequences for public education, particularly in low-income and minority communities.

Joshua Cowen 8/21/25 Joshua Cowen 8/21/25

Voucher Take-up Rates

This document lists articles from different states on the percentages of voucher students who never attended public school or were already in private school.

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