WASHINGTON — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday her state will join the new federal scholarship tax credit, becoming the second Democratic governor to opt in voluntarily to the school-choice program created in last year’s federal tax and spending law.
She follows Colorado’s Jared Polis. That program — included in the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act — offers taxpayers a federal credit for gifts to scholarship-granting groups: up to $1,700 for individuals and $3,400 for joint filers. Households earning as much as 300% of area median income can receive the scholarships.
Funds may cover private or religious tuition and also tutoring or after-school help, which Hochul said lets public-school students benefit too. She waited for Treasury rules released last week before deciding, and said the program could bring millions to New York families without draining public schools or state and local budgets.
Teachers unions and legislative leaders had urged her to stay out, arguing the credit will draw families and money from public schools. The city teachers union chief called the choice a failure of leadership.
An IRS tracker shows 30 other states have joined. Republican legislatures in Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas overrode Democratic governors’ vetoes; other Democratic governors have declined or are still reviewing. School-choice advocates hoped Hochul’s move would pressure holdouts.
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