The 2025 reconciliation bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) establishes a K-12 federal tax credit school voucher program for which individuals, beginning in 2027, can get an unprecedented dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit–up to $1,700 per taxpayer per year – for donations made to private, nonprofit “scholarship granting organizations” (SGOs). The SGOs act as bundlers, accepting the donations and then handing out vouchers–thereby creating a public subsidy that primarily benefits students attending K-12 private schools.

States are not obligated to participate in this new voucher program, and the statute directs that Governors, or “such other individual, agency, or entity as is designated under State law” must annually elect to participate in the program.

In the Public Interest has produced a brief outlining the many issues each state must consider as they decide whether to participate in the program. It is intended for policymakers, educators, education advocates, parents, and the general public to best inform the discussion and provide the full range of questions to ask as the program and the regulations around it begin to take shape.

Read The New Federal Voucher Program: Considerations for Policymakers.