The East Valley and Nine Mile Falls school districts outside Spokane just learned how hard it is to ask stretched taxpayers for more – a school bond and a levy failed this spring. But a new federal K-12 education tax-credit program could send more than $700 million annually to Washington students and school districts like these, at zero cost to taxpayers or schools. There’s just one catch: Gov. Bob Ferguson has to say yes.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said yes earlier this month, and her choice was anything but routine. It was a signal flare visible all the way to Olympia – and our governor should be taking notes.
Congress enacted the country’s first-ever Federal Tax-Credit Scholarship (FTCS) program for K-12 educational expenses last July. Any federal taxpayer can donate up to $1,700 to an approved nonprofit Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) and receive a dollar-for-dollar credit against their federal tax bill – not a deduction, a full credit. Expense funds can be used at any public, private, or religious school for a wide range of education-related costs, from tutoring and books to technology, tuition, uniforms, transportation, therapies for students with special needs, extended-day programs, and more.
Gov. Ferguson has called the FTCS a voucher program. He is mistaken. The program is paid for with private charitable dollars, not public funds. Both public and private school students are eligible. Recipients of funding must be eligible to attend a Washington public school, and their families’ incomes cannot exceed 300% of their area median income. Under this threshold, students from virtually all working and middle-class Washington families are eligible. In Spokane Public Schools, for example, a student from a family of four earning up to $302,400 would qualify.
The FTCS program has no sunset provision and no cap on total program dollars, but donors can only contribute to SGOs in states that have opted in by January 1, 2027.
Governors of 27 states have formally opted in, and that number keeps growing. Legislatures in Kentucky and Kansas recently overrode their governors’ vetoes to join. All told, 31 states have formally or informally committed to participate. Gov. Ferguson has yet to act – leaving Washington families on the sidelines while the rest of the country moves forward.
Gov. Hochul first disclosed her decision at a private gathering, and her office confirmed that she “is supportive of the federal tax credit scholarship and its potential to help New York students and schools.” This makes New York the second Democratic-led state to opt in officially, joining Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who was the first Democratic governor to do so.
Which brings us back to Gov. Ferguson. The question before him isn’t “Should we have the program?” – it’s “Should Washington students benefit from their share?” If he does not opt in, Washington students and their schools stand to lose more than $700 million annually (a conservative estimate).
Every federal taxpayer can claim the credit, but donations can only go to SGOs in states that have opted in. If Gov. Ferguson fails to act, Washington’s federal tax dollars will flow to students and schools in other states. That’s not fiscal prudence. It’s a self-inflicted wound.
Writing in the Washington Post, Jorge Elorza, CEO of Democrats for Education Reform, and Ben Austin, Founding Director of Education Civil Rights Now, put it plainly: “Democrats talk about equity while protecting a system that produces profound inequality. They tout empowerment yet resist giving families meaningful choices.”
Obama Education Secretary Arne Duncan agrees, stating that opting into the FTCS program is “a no-brainer” that “isn’t about abandoning Democratic values – it’s about fulfilling them.”
A survey of Washington voters found 72% support opting in, with only 14% opposed – including 74% of Washington Democrats, 65% of Black voters, and 81% of Hispanic voters.
The FTCS asks nothing of local taxpayers – it simply empowers them to direct their federal tax dollars to students in their own communities. When 74% of Washington Democrats support it and Democratic governors of both Colorado and New York have moved forward, the argument for inaction has collapsed. The opt-in deadline is January 1, 2027. Gov. Ferguson should not leave over $700 million on the table. He should put those resources to work for Washington students and their schools.
To learn more about the FTCS program and to encourage the governor to opt in, visit Washington Policy Center’s Take Action page.
Vicki Murray, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Education & Paul W. Locke Research Fellow at the Washington Policy Center.