New Coalition of Education, Civil Rights, Parent, and Community Organizations Urge State to Opt Out of Federal School Voucher Program to Protect Our Best-in-the-Nation Public Schools
BOSTON – Members of a diverse new statewide coalition aimed at protecting the state’s best-in-the-nation public schools expressed alarm today over new federal regulations governing the federal school voucher program created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Coalition members, including education, civil rights, parent, and community organizations across Massachusetts, are calling on the state to protect public schools and the students they serve by formally opting out of the new federal school voucher program, which is set to begin in January 2027.
“These new regulations confirm what we’ve feared since the federal school voucher program was first envisioned as part of the Project 2025 agenda: It would send our public tax dollars to private schools, defunding the public schools that serve all kids while bypassing the strong local education standards that have made Massachusetts schools the best in the nation,” said Vatsady Sivongxay, a public school parent and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance - Education Fund. “Under these regulations, Massachusetts couldn’t establish any guardrails over how federal school voucher funds are spent. Just like in other states that have opened the gates to vouchers, Massachusetts would see significant fraud and abuse as private equity–backed education companies and fly-by-night private school operations seek to profit from public subsidies while redirecting public resources away from schools that serve all students. This voucher program is the latest step in a coordinated effort to defund public education across the country, and we urge Governor Healey to stand up for Massachusetts students by rejecting it.”
On Monday, October 5 at 1:00 p.m., advocates from the new Protect Our Public Schools coalition of education, civil rights, parent, and community organizations will gather on the steps of the State House to call on the state to protect public schools and the students they serve by formally opting out of the new federal school voucher program.
The new regulations would:
- Allow eligible taxpayers to claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to private voucher organizations called scholarship granting organizations (SGOs), effectively sending public tax dollars to those private organizations.
- Prevent states from requiring private SGOs to use public dollars on public school students, or from requiring them to prioritize low-income or high-need students.
- Prohibit states from setting operating standards or having control over which private SGOs can operate in state. If Massachusetts opts in and organizations (including national multi-state SGOs) meet the extremely limited federal requirements, then Massachusetts must allow them to take part in the program, giving them access to public taxpayer dollars.
- Prohibit states from adopting any additional regulations over SGOs to protect against discrimination, waste, fraud, and abuse.
- Prevent states from opting out of the program mid-year if it’s not working. Participation must be renewed annually, but once that choice is made, it cannot be revoked for that year.
“Massachusetts can’t be lured into a ploy that sabotages funding for public schools that are committed to educating every child. Right-wing extremists have long pushed vouchers as a tool to dismantle public education because they do not believe in investing in every child’s potential or strengthening democracy," said MTA President Matt Bach and Vice President Deb Gesualdo. “President Trump’s tax ruse is a new approach to an old tactic that Massachusetts residents are smart enough to recognize as bad for the common good. It is shocking that Governor Healey even is considering joining forces with Trump in his attempt to undermine public education. We urge Governor Healey to be resolute in defending public schools and refuse to opt in our state to this reckless Trump administration scheme.”
“Whether you call it a voucher or a scholarship or a savings account, the result is the same—publicly-subsidized private schools. With states banned from implementing standards or guardrails to ensure public money supports students in need, participation is nothing more than an investment in accelerating inequities and widening opportunities gaps in education," said American Federation of Teachers President Jessica Tang. "Once again, we urge Governor Healey to formally and unequivocally opt-out of this scheme to maintain accountability and protect the Commonwealth’s standing in public education.”
Voucher programs, including this federal school voucher program, divert taxpayer dollars from public schools—which are required to serve all students—to private schools, which can pick and choose who they admit with zero accountability. Voucher programs threaten the fiscal health of Massachusetts public schools and have been repeatedly shown to negatively impact student outcomes, putting the state’s best-in-the-nation standing in education at risk.
Advocates are urging Governor Healey to formally opt out of the federal school voucher program ahead of the January 1, 2027, deadline.
Background
The federal “tax credit scholarship” school voucher program is the latest step in the federal administration’s campaign to eliminate public education across the country. A key priority of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 agenda, the program was established under Section 70411 of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025.
Beginning in 2027, donors can claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to private voucher organizations called scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). Historically, funding for these organizations subsidizes private and religious education.
Unlike other federal programs, the federal school voucher program includes an extremely generous income cap—extending eligibility to households earning up to 300 percent of Area Median Income. In Massachusetts, this means public funding would be allowed to subsidize the private education of a student whose family earns as much as $500,000 a year rather than expand educational opportunities for students facing the greatest barriers.
Funds flow directly to private SGOs, which have the unilateral authority to decide who receives the money. These organizations aren’t required to be transparent or accountable to the public, and the private schools they fund can turn away students based on disability, academic record, behavior, religion, or almost any other criteria they choose. In fact, under the current proposal states would be prohibited from creating any guardrails as to how this money is spent. Public money would flow to private schools with zero accountability—putting our first-in-the-nation public schools at risk.
The federal school voucher program is entirely optional, and governors around the nation are tasked with deciding whether or not to enroll their state by January 1, 2027.
