Jul 22 Federal School Voucher Program Enacted

(July 22, 2025)

Earlier in July when the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was passed not only did it make significant reductions in Medicaid and SNAP, it also contained a federal school voucher program.

The newly passed federal school voucher program is the first voucher program that has been approved on the federal level. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia have voucher programs in place. While Pennsylvania is not one of them, bills to create a voucher program have advanced in both chambers in recent years. The federally enacted voucher program will create tax credits for individuals who donate to organizations that provide scholarships for K-12 private school tuition. The final version does not have a cap on how much an individual can file for and does not have an end date, meaning the tax credits are permanent and could be quite expensive depending on how many file and receive the tax credits.

The legislation allows states to opt into the program. As mentioned earlier, Pennsylvania does not have a voucher program in place. However, Governor Shapiro has not been opposed to the legislation and has in the past expressed his support for a voucher system. In 2024, debates over vouchers delayed the state budget. Ultimately, Governor Shapiro did not support a $100 million voucher program, allowing the state budget to move forward and finalize the state budget. It is possible that Pennsylvania will “opt in” to the newly enacted federal voucher program.

A voucher program is a way to help families afford private school. The argument for vouchers is that it can help to get children out of a “failing school.” However, research shows that the vast majority of families who utilize these programs are already enrolled in private schools and the programs do not help to move public school students into private school. Teachers Unions, school boards, school administrators, and others who oppose voucher programs – including Allies for Children – see it as a way to siphon funds away from public schools to private schools, who are held to different standards than public schools. Voucher-pro legislators highlight that a student shouldn’t be confined to a failing school because of the zip code they live in. We could not agree more. However, the solution is not to repurpose funds away from public schools, but instead to invest more heavily in evidence-based programs to improve public school outcomes.

Allies for Children will be following the implementation of the federal school voucher program and will report on Pennsylvania’s decision to opt in or opt out.

Jamie Baxter, Allies for Children Executive Director