The Democratic governor first voiced support for the GOP-led program, which is structured as a federal tax credit, in May, but said her office was waiting for final regulations to ensure there were no “poison pills” before New York legally opted in. Those rules were published last week.
“After a careful review of the federal regulations, we believe this program has the potential to bring millions of additional dollars to New York students and families without taking a single dollar from public schools or our state or local budgets,” Hochul said.
The governor’s office confirmed it will notify the federal government of its election in the coming weeks, a spokesperson said.
Under the federal scholarship tax credit program, American taxpayers are eligible for dollar-for-dollar credits of up to $1,700 for donations to nonprofit organizations, which grant scholarships to students.
Families can use the scholarships to pay for private and religious school tuition, making it effectively the first national school choice program in the United States. But unlike traditional voucher programs, the grants may also be used at public schools, including for tutoring, after-school, yellow buses, special education and other school expenses.
In order for a state’s students to benefit from the scholarships, the federal government requires that its governor opt into the program. Charitable taxpayers can receive the credit regardless of whether their state opts in.
“Giving up local control of public education to the federal government through the Trump administration’s private school voucher scheme is a failure of leadership,” Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said in a statement. “Gov. Hochul will bear the responsibility, but our students, educators and families will bear the price.”
Mulgew added he and his allies are “going to continue to do what we can to roll back this policy.”
With the governor’s support, New York will become the 31st state to opt into the program, and Hochul only the second Democratic governor to do so, after Colorado’s Gov. Jared Polis, according to Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), a national organization that supports the policy.
“Gov. Hochul understands that the way to make this program work for the kids who need it most is to be at the table shaping it,” said Arne Duncan, a senior fellow at DFER and former U.S. secretary of education. “Thanks to her courageous decision, students across the Empire State will have a new way to access K-12 resources next year.”
“I’ve been clear from the start,” Hochul said, “that New York would participate in the federal scholarship tax credit program if, and only if, all schools and students, including those in our public schools, could benefit.”
The governor added that she engaged business leaders who “committed” to use the program to support public school students, and pledged to work with education leaders to ensure that the resources “reach students” across New York.
“I’m not going to leave money on the table when it could help our kids,” she said.
The federal scholarship tax credit program starts in January.