New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill must decide by Jan. 1, 2027, whether the state will take part in President Trump's federal K-12 scholarship donation tax credit program. Supporters say participating could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds, while opponents call it effectively a private school voucher. Sherrill has not yet stated her position publicly.
According to NJ Spotlight News, Gov. Mikie Sherrill must decide by Jan. 1 whether New Jersey will participate in President Trump's new school choice program, the Education Freedom Tax Credit. Critics point out that if the state does not participate, it would forgo federal funds that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. If it does, she would have to weather backlash from supporters who believe public money would flow to private and religious schools. A spokesperson for Sherrill said only that the governor is reviewing the federal guidance and examining how it could help public school students.
Here is how the program works. Taxpayers who donate to K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) scholarships, up to $1,700 per person or $3,400 per married couple, have their federal taxes reduced by the amount donated, so the donor bears no actual cost. Nonprofit organizations distribute the donations as scholarships, and the organizations decide the amounts and which schools receive them. The money can go to private schools, including Catholic, Jewish and Islamic schools, as well as to additional services such as tutoring in public schools. Because there is effectively no income cap, the U.S. Treasury Department estimated that about 96% of all households would be eligible.
Declan O'Scanlon, a Republican state budget lawmaker, argued that rejecting the program would reduce the money New Jersey families receive and increase their cost-of-living burden. Democrats for Education Reform, a school choice advocacy group, estimated that if 30% of eligible taxpayers participated, more than $1.7 billion a year could go to New Jersey students. On the other hand, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) and state Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) oppose participation. Critics believe the program would largely subsidize tuition for parents whose children already attend private schools, and that the per-pupil state aid public schools lose when students leave would exceed what they gain from donations. By one estimate, the program would cost the federal government $26 billion a year in forgone revenue nationwide.
According to the original report, the program takes effect in 2027, and 32 states have applied to participate so far. Most are led by Republican governors, but they also include New York, Colorado and New Mexico, which have Democratic governors. New Jersey, along with neighboring Pennsylvania, has not yet decided. Governors must decide each year whether to participate, and Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) has taken the position that the state can simply withdraw if the program shows no results after a year. In New Jersey, attempts to introduce vouchers or tax credits have continued for nearly 30 years, beginning in the 1990s under then-Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, but have repeatedly failed.
The actual impact depends heavily on decisions made by the nonprofits that receive the donations. The Tri-County Scholarship Fund in northern New Jersey said it would support only accredited private schools and give priority to low-income families. It said that if the state participates, it could also expand its support to tutoring in local public schools such as those in Paterson. The New Jersey Policy Institute plans to hold a press conference on Thursday to announce a partnership with Ace Scholarships, a Colorado-based nonprofit, to raise funds for tutoring for public school students. The head of that organization said that if Sherrill does not opt in, the money raised will go to scholarships in other states.