Gov. Hochul Says “Yes” to Choice Scholarships – Will the Remaining Holdout States Follow?

PICTURED: New York Governor Kathy Hochul

​Imagine playing a game of Texas Hold ‘Em with a fortune in the pot and seats for 49 other players. Obviously, you won’t be the only winner. But even if you have to split the pot, you will come out way ahead. After all, someone else fronted your stake.

So you have nothing to lose and only millions to gain.

You take in a deep breath to calm yourself and keep your face blank and free of any tells as you slowly look down at your cards. You have a Royal Flush! And then … you decide, what the heck … it’s no longer worth the bother.

And so you fold.

Who does that? Exactly no one – in poker. But in politics, 21 states are demurring from the offer of free money to fund educational scholarships for K-12 educational expenses and tuition for private schools.

Like the perverse poker player, these states are ignoring or declining the opportunity to accept their shares of nearly $23 billion in federal charitable educational donations that will be available between 2027 and 2029. Forgoing these funds is especially nonsensical given that contributions made by taxpayers in non-participating states will only go to fund scholarships in other states.

Worse, if these holdouts do not accept these funds, the result will be more than 4.1 million lost scholarship opportunities.

To make this decision even easier, these funds do not come at the expense of state and local public-school budgets. They come from the Educational Choice for Children Act, which established a federal tax credit of $1,700 per taxpayer for contributions to Scholarship Granting Organizations that give scholarships to qualified families. But to be eligible, a state must affirmatively opt in.

Some Democrats in blue states are saying “yes” to this opportunity.

• Last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul looked at the more than $2.3 billion her state is set to receive from 2027 to 2029 and made her decision to say “yes.”

 

• Late last year, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado also looked at the hundreds of millions of dollars available to his state and said “yes.”

But the governors of many states are holding back. In Illinois, 64 percent of primary voters in the March election, in a nonbinding ballot question, overwhelmingly endorsed participation in this program. That clearly indicates that this program is popular among Democrats. Why, then, is Gov. J.B. Pritzker not responding to this popular call? Why, for that matter, is Gov. Gavin Newsom of California refusing to accept $5 billion in scholarships in the next few years for California school children?

Politicians may be conflicted by special interests and ideological opposition. Parents are not conflicted. Parents of households that earn up to 300 percent of the regional median income will value the chance to pay tuition for better choices in failing school districts. They will also value the chance to use the money for educational materials like textbooks, as well as test prep and after-school programs that benefit public school children.

No less important, families will be able to enjoy the benefits of a First Amendment society, extending their interests and values across the generations by choosing a science-based school, a religious academy, an arts-focused school, or by enhancing a public-school education.
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Laying out these winning cards should be a no brainer.

If you live in New York State and want to congratulate Gov. Kathy Hochul for accepting ECCA scholarships to benefit New York families, email her here.

If you live in Colorado and want to congratulate Gov. Jared Polis for accepting ECCA scholarships to benefit Colorado families, email him here.

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