麻豆精品

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 麻豆精品 Newsletter

The announcement represents a major win for supporters of private school choice who have been lobbying Democratic governors to participate in the program. However, Hochul鈥檚 office said she intends to review the details before making the decision official.

The American Federation for Children, a national school choice advocacy group, said Thursday night that Hochul first made the announcement at a private gathering. , an organization that supports Jewish religious education, according to an Agudath spokesperson.

Emma Wallner, a spokesperson for the governor, confirmed Hochul鈥檚 plans to opt in to the tax credit.

鈥淕overnor Hochul is supportive of the federal tax credit scholarship and its potential to help New York students and schools,鈥� Wallner wrote in a statement. 鈥淥ur office awaits information from the federal government on the program and will thoroughly review the details of the policy for poison pills that could harm New York鈥檚 education system.鈥�

The , which will clarify, for example, how donated money might benefit public school students or whether states can prevent scholarship-granting organizations from discriminating against certain students.

The tax credit was approved last year as part of the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It allows taxpayers to get a dollar-for-dollar credit up to $1,700 on their federal taxes if they donate money to an eligible scholarship-granting organization. These organizations could give students money for private school tuition, tutoring, and other educational expenses.

Governors, however, have to opt into the program for students in their state to benefit.

鈥淔inally, school choice is coming to New York, thanks to the courage of Governor Hochul and the tremendous advocacy of countless families, educators, and supporters who have worked for generations to advance options for kids who need them,鈥� American Federation for Children CEO Tommy Schultz said in a press release.

According to a , 29 states, nearly all of them led by Republicans, have opted into the tax credit. That list does not include New York.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is the . Under pressure from Republican lawmakers, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said last year that he .

Some Democratic governors have been strongly opposed. In Wisconsin, which launched one of the nation鈥檚 earliest voucher programs, . In a veto statement, he cited the lack of any accountability measures in the federal program.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also , as did , but Republican-controlled legislatures overrode vetoes in both states.

Other Democratic governors are taking a wait-and-see approach. Democratic backers of expanding school choice and that states that don鈥檛 opt in risk their own taxpayers donating to scholarship groups in other states. Opponents say the program undermines public education and threatens funding, .

Nationally and in New York, supporters of religious education have lobbied for the tax credit as a way to ease the tuition burden for families.

鈥淭his is extraordinary news for Jewish families and for every community across our state,鈥� said Sydney Altfield, the CEO of Teach NYS, an organization that lobbies for public funding for Jewish schools. 鈥淏lue states across the country will now be watching closely.鈥�

Hochul has courted the Orthodox Jewish community, an influential voting bloc, as she faces reelection in November. Along with state legislative leaders, she previously oversight of private schools, a measure that would largely benefit certain yeshivas that . The state鈥檚 education commissioner, Betty Rosa, called the move a 鈥渢ravesty.鈥�

Hochul has backed other efforts to expand school choice since taking office nearly five years ago, drawing pushback from other New York Democrats. In 2023, she proposed to in New York City, even as the publicly funded yet privately managed schools have fallen out of favor among many left-leaning elected officials. State lawmakers but ultimately approved a more .

Hochul has also touted her commitment to funding traditional public schools and has presided over increases in state spending. State officials indicated Thursday that schools should expect at least a 2% bump in the state鈥檚 forthcoming budget, which is more than a month overdue and has .

鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the resources we have put into education,鈥� she told reporters Thursday.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 麻豆精品鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.