As published in the Post-Gazette
Forty-three years ago, “A Nation at Risk,” a bipartisan federal report commissioned under President Reagan, warned that declining academic standards and weak student outcomes were putting America’s economic future and civic strength at risk. “The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity,” it claimed, “that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.”
In the decades since, trillions of dollars have been spent by local, state and federal officials who promise parents better education for their children. Rarely have those soaring promises been paired with truly transformative education policy changes.
Governors across the country, including Josh Shapiro, must answer a pressing question for the good of their families and particularly their students. Will they opt in to the biggest education opportunity in a generation?
A meaningful step
But last year, the federal government took its most meaningful step toward addressing the education crisis in this country. Congress created the first universal federal education tax credit program.
The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC) program allows taxpayers to claim a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs). The amount of money an SGO can raise through these donations is unlimited. Some SGOs might raise a few hundred thousand dollars; others might raise tens of millions.
Beginning in 2027, the SGOs will award scholarships to kindergarten through grade twelve students attending nonpublic schools. The program will also benefit public school communities by allowing them to raise funds for books, technology, and tutoring, as well as for music, arts, athletics, and other extracurricular opportunities that are often the first to be cut from local budgets.
Given the scale of funds that can be raised by SGOs, this is truly an opportunity for revolutionizing American K-12 education.
There is one catch. Each state’s governor must opt in to the program for scholarship-granting organizations to operate within their state.
For some governors, the answer has been straightforward. Twenty-seven have opted in so far, including twenty-six Republicans and Democratic Governor Jared Polis of Colorado. At least three Democratic governors, in New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin, have stated their opposition. The rest have remained silent.
With the national spotlight trained on Gov. Josh Shapiro, he has an opportunity to be a leader on education. After all, Pennsylvania already has two robust tax credit scholarship programs — the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit and Educational Improvement Tax Credit — which Teach PA worked with Shapiro on to expand.
The Democratic vanguard
Leading the Democratic vanguard on the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit shouldn’t be controversial. Historically, prominent Democrats supported school choice as a tool to expand opportunity for underserved and undereducated communities. Senator Joe Lieberman crossed party lines to sponsor school choice pilot programs.
Senator Dianne Feinstein cast the deciding vote to create a school choice program for Washington, D.C., students from low-income families. And Pennsylvania’s liberal Democratic Governor Ed Rendell expanded the Keystone State’s scholarship tax credit program.
These leaders understood both the moral and political imperative of empowering parents to make educational choices for their children, whether that meant selecting a different school or strengthening their local public school with additional resources and support.
Politically, these programs have long enjoyed strong support in the communities they serve. Applications often fill within hours of opening. Lotteries draw overwhelming interest from families seeking options that are a stronger fit for their children.
The case for the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program is even more compelling. Unlike traditional voucher programs, this program does not divert a single dollar from state or local public school budgets. It relies entirely on private donations and a federal tax credit.
A governor who opts out is effectively turning away federal support that could help public schools expand tutoring, arts, athletics, and enrichment opportunities that local budgets frequently cannot sustain.
The governors’ choice
Twenty years ago, some Democrats opposed the creation of 529 education savings accounts. Today, those accounts are widely used and politically untouchable. The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program stands at a similar moment of inception.
Opting in should be an easy decision for every governor — especially Gov. Shapiro, who is attempting to prove that a swing state, moderate Democrat can be a national leader.
The movement toward greater educational freedom and opportunity is already underway. The question is no longer whether expanded educational options will continue to grow in America, but how many students and families the opportunities will reach and how quickly. Shapiro and other governors can choose to lead — or to explain to parents why their children were left behind.