For many families, finances are the primary obstacle to escaping the public school system. Private schools are expensive; homeschooling usually requires one parent to stay at home part or full-time. Even extracurricular activities or tutoring require some kind of sacrifice. The result is that the number of families who desire school choice far outstrip those who can actually pursue it.
Yet thanks to Congress, the United States is on the precipice of a new school choice era. More children than ever will have the chance to get out of failing schools and out of the hands of radical administrators, if only their states allow them to do so.
In July 2025, Congress passed the first ever federal school choice tax credit program, the Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC). The tax credit, set to officially launch in 2027, will offset donations to nonprofits called scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) that help low-income families with educational expenses. Individual taxpayers will be able to claim a 100% tax credit on up to $1700 in donations to organizations that award such scholarships. Incentivizing private giving means organizations will have more resources to help a greater number of children escape the typical public-school model.
The beauty of the program is that it does not divert funds from the public-school systems, nor does it simply redirect tax dollars to approved-educational expenses (as in the case of education savings accounts, or ESAs). The Education Freedom Tax Credit merely encourages private donations towards dedicated education non-profits.
It’s also light on regulations and stipulations by design. While scholarships can be used for private school tuition, including religious schools, they could also be used for disability services, uniform purchases, transportation, technology, and after-school programs. The details of how the program will operate must still go through the Treasury Department’s rulemaking process. But the program is meant to provide maximum flexibility and choice to both nonprofits and the families that benefit from them.
On its face, this is no radical upending of the education establishment. But it is a crack in its foundation. For every new donation to a SGO, that’s another mom who can send her son to the after-school tutor to improve his math. Or a family who can afford the extra expense of commutating to the school that is farther away but offers better science programs. It’s another child who, instead of sitting in a classroom for eight hours, unable to focus, is now able to thrive in a hybrid homeschool model. It offers more families something other than the failing one-size-fits-all public education system.
One of the advantages of the program is that it is entirely optional for states to participate, and they do so on a year-by-year basis. In the spirit of federalism, if a state has any concerns about unwanted strings attached to the program, they do not have to join it. And if they try it and it does not work out for them, they do not have to opt in for a second year. Concerned Women for American will never argue for a state to take federal dollars if it comes with unwanted restrictions. But if, when the Treasury rules come and governors are still allowed to direct the program as best suits their state, what is the argument for not allowing more low-income students the chance at a better education? A better shot at flourishing and reaching their full potential?
So far, 26 states have already opted in, with more signaling their intention to do so, including blue state Colorado. Education Secretary McMahon expects that number to rise before the program goes live.
For those who choose not to, they should take this clue from Congress to embrace the era of choice, either through implementing new school choice programs or strengthening already existing ones. The school choice movement is no longer a fringe idea. Instead, every sector of the population, from the inner cities to the halls of Congress, recognizes that the way education has been done for the past 40 years has failed. In this new era, education should recognize that every child is uniquely created by God, with their own preferred ways of learning and with individual talents to cultivate. If American students are allowed to thrive, so will the nation.
