Vicki Murray argues Washington risks forfeiting $732 million in federal education funding if state leaders do not opt into the federal tax-credit scholarship program.

Vicki Murray asks will Washington join the proliferating number of states seizing this opportunity, or will we watch from the sidelines as hundreds of millions of our federal education dollars leave?

Vicki Murray
Washington Policy Center

Washington students and schools stand to gain $732 million in additional education funding next year—all at no cost to the state or school districts. Only one thing stands between Washington families and those resources: the governor’s signature.

Last summer, Congress passed the nation’s first-ever federal tax-credit scholarship (FTCS) program for K-12 educational expenses. This groundbreaking program allows Washington taxpayers who donate to nonprofit scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) to receive dollar-for-dollar federal tax credits worth up to $1,700. SGOs pool these donations and distribute scholarships to eligible students from families earning up to 300 percent of area median income.

Public and private school students can use their federal tax-credit scholarships for qualified K-12 educational expenses, including:

Fees, books, supplies, tutoring, and special education services
Transportation, extended-day programs, room and board, uniforms, and tuition
Computer technology, equipment, Internet access, and educational services

Public school districts, private school associations, philanthropic organizations, community groups, and others can create their own 501(c)(3) tax-exempt SGOs or partner with existing ones. This gives schools direct control over how scholarship funds support their students—no state bureaucracy, no new administrative burden, just additional federal resources flowing directly to students and their schools.

Here’s the catch: While every Washington federal taxpayer can donate to nonprofit SGOs and claim their credits, they can only donate to nonprofits in states that have officially opted into the FTCS program. If Gov. Ferguson doesn’t opt Washington into the program by January 1, 2027, hundreds of millions of education dollars will flow to students and schools in other states instead of ours.

The clock is ticking—and other states aren’t waiting. Just today, Colorado became the 24th state to opt in, joining a growing coalition that recognizes this federal education tax-credit scholarship program for the opportunity it is: additional funding for students at no cost to states.

While Colorado acts decisively, our state risks leaving Washington students and schools behind. Every day we delay is another day that hundreds of thousands of education dollars could flow elsewhere—to states whose leaders chose action over inaction.

Nearly half of all states nationwide have now officially indicated they intend to participate in the federal tax-credit scholarship program: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Meanwhile, North Carolina’s governor has stated his informal intention to opt in as well.

Keeping millions of education dollars in state is exactly what President Obama’s Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls “a no-brainer.” Two dozen Washington state representatives agree and have signed onto House Joint Memorial 4013 urging the governor to “not leave $732M for Washington’s kids on the table” and to opt the state into the federal tax-credit scholarship program.

Yet both Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal and Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen oppose the program. Despite the fact that this is purely federal funding—not state or school district money—they mistakenly believe it will somehow take resources from public education. Their math simply doesn’t add up: these are additional federal dollars that don’t exist in Washington’s budget and can’t be redirected to other purposes. Without opting in, we don’t protect state or school district funding—we simply forfeit additional federal funding that our students and schools need.

The choice facing Washington is stark and simple: opt into the federal tax-credit scholarship program and secure $732 million or watch those funds flow to students and schools in an ever-growing number of other states.

This isn’t some partisan right versus left issue: it’s a matter of right and wrong. It’s about ensuring Washington students and schools have the same educational opportunities as their peers in half the country.

So, will Washington join the proliferating number of states seizing this opportunity, or will we watch from the sidelines as hundreds of millions of our federal education dollars leave? To learn more and to encourage Gov. Ferguson to seize this opportunity, visit WPC’s Take Action page.

Vicki Murray is the Paul W. Locke Research Fellow for Education at the Washington Policy Center.

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