Kent ISD — It’s just one section in the massive federal spending bill, but a proposed federal school voucher program could have nationwide impacts, say both critics and advocates.
Though Michigan has in the past rejected state-funded school vouchers, the federal program could change the landscape of “public education as we know it,” said Dan Behm, executive director of Education Advocates of West Michigan, which advocates for policies and budgets that support local preK-12 schools at the state and federal level.
Within the tax portion of the more than 1,000-page One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which recently passed the House and is moving to the Senate, is a section that would create a $5 billion federal voucher program. It would allow people in all 50 states to donate to entities called scholarship-granting organizations and receive 100 percent, dollar-for-dollar tax credit for their contributions. People could contribute up to 10 percent of their adjusted gross income.
“One of the things we are concerned about is, if this bill becomes law, what are both the intended and unintended consequences on local public school enrollment,” Behm said.
The nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations would provide scholarships to eligible students for private school tuition, curriculum resources, books and instructional materials, tutoring, online courses, dual enrollment at community colleges, educational therapies, test fees, and home-schooling expenses. Eligible students are defined as a member of a household with an income not greater than 300 percent of the area median gross income.
The program is modeled after the Educational Choice for Children Act, which was introduced in the House on Jan. 31. It received approval from the House Ways and Means Committee May 14 before being added to the reconciliation bill.
Threats to Enrollment, High-need Students
Questions Behm has about the program include whether a huge increase in scholarship money for private schools — as a result of scholarship-granting organization contributions — would lead to a mass exodus of students from public schools.
Enrollment decreases come with a multitude of challenges for districts including a reduction in per-pupil funding, he said. Drops in student numbers across a K-12 district, however, don’t always result in lower costs. If a few students leave from each grade level in a school, it doesn’t necessarily allow for fewer classrooms, teachers or buses, he explained.
‘Presumably if this bill were to become law, you would see these scholarship-granting organizations start to form all over the place.’
— Dan Behm, executive director of Education Advocates of West Michigan
Also, private schools have capacity and resource issues which could mean high-needs students would not be accepted into those schools.
“Public schools have statutory duties to educate every single student and private schools don’t,” Behm said. “(That would mean) public schools are left with a far greater percentage of students who cost a much higher amount to support their educational needs than the average enrollment of a private school.”
Teachers would also be attracted to districts that have fewer high-needs students, he said. “You get a potential discrepancy both on the student population side of things as well as the economic cost as well as the staff.”
Representing the largest labor union in the U.S., National Education Association President Becky Pringle also expressed concerns in a statement about the reconciliation bill passing the House.
“When they redirect public dollars to fund private school vouchers, they weaken public education and limit opportunities for students,” Pringle said in the statement. “They siphon crucial funding from public schools — serving 90 percent of students — and redirect it to private institutions with no accountability. Access to affordable, quality higher education will slip further out of reach for countless students.”
Broadening School Choice
Supporters of the program, however, say it would open up more opportunities for families. American Federation for Children, an organization that advocates for school choice, has issued a statement applauding the program as bringing closer “important, significant changes that will ensure education freedom can truly be realized across America.”
“We applaud (House) Speaker (Mike) Johnson and countless congressional leaders for their relentless commitment to ensuring school choice becomes the law of the land,” AFC CEO Tommy Schultz said in the statement. “Many changes are likely to occur as lawmakers debate key elements that need improvement, and we are eager to continue working with them to ensure that robust school choice makes it to President Trump’s desk. Ultimately, every child, especially from lower-income families, should have access to the school of their choice, and this legislation is the only way to make that happen.”
Molly Macek, director of education policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, in Midland, said the Mackinac Center strives to empower parents with access to a variety of effective educational options and disputes that the federal bill would hurt public schools.
“The federal tax credit would support this effort by providing funds that would help offset education costs for Michigan families in need,” she said in an email. “The federal program would have a negligible impact on the state’s public education system but a positive impact on students who are awarded scholarships to support their education journey.”
While some states have enacted or are enacting voucher programs, Michigan has resisted allowing them. Former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, of the billionaire DeVos family of West Michigan, backed the Let MI Kids Learn voucher-like proposal that failed to make it onto the state ballot a couple years ago. Also, in the 2000 election Michigan voters rejected, by 69% to 31%, a DeVos-backed referendum that would have amended the state Constitution to allow a voucher system and for public resources to be used for private schools.
Rooted in Conservative Policy Framework
The idea of universal school vouchers is supported by Project 2025, of which The Heritage Foundation is a main architect. The foundation has strongly advocated for school choice and voucher programs.
Previous voucher programs deemed unconstitutional were structured in one of two ways: for state or federal governments to collect tax dollars to distribute to educational institutions, or so people could write off tuition for sending their child to private school on their income tax returns.
The fact that the proposed program relies on charitable contributions is a way to test its constitutionality, Behm said.
“There is a sense from lawyers and others looking at this that this has a much better chance of passing that constitutional test,” he said.
Incentives Would Attract Donors
Behm expects charitable organizations to form very quickly if the program is approved: “Presumably if this bill were to become law, you would see these scholarship-granting organizations start to form all over the place.”
The pool of donors would be much larger than just parents and grandparents, he said, but would include anyone who could benefit financially.
The program would accept stock certificate contributions, allowing tax credits on the total appreciated value of donated stock. Similar to when donating stock to other charities, contributors would not have to pay capital gains taxes.
“That is a huge tax advantage for someone who is sitting on some stock.” he said. “It becomes a tax haven or a shelter from having to pay capital gains taxes. People would be incentivized to use it regardless of if they are sending kids to private school or not.”
The likelihood of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passing in the Senate isn’t a given, Behm said. While, as a reconciliation bill, it only needs 51 votes to pass instead of the otherwise required 60-vote supermajority, Republican senators still have concerns about cuts to Medicaid and food stamps and the fact that the bill continues annual deficit spending.
The Senate is working on modifying the bill, which will require it to go back to the House for final approval before it’s signed by President Trump. Senate and House Republicans have a self-imposed deadline to pass a budget bill by July 4, at Trump’s urging.
If it is eventually approved, Behm said he does expect it to face legal challenges.
“I do think this would be tested in the court,” Behm said. “Whether or not the courts end up supporting or opposing this idea is an open question.”
Read more:
• What would closing the U.S Depart of Education mean for special education in Kent County?
• We ask students: What is high school like for you?
