by Alan Chen
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signaled her intention to opt the state into a new federal private school voucher program.
Passed as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, the federal voucher program — misleadingly named the Education Freedom Tax Credit — diverts public money into private schools. States that opt into the program allow taxpayers to receive dollar-for-dollar credits of up to $1,700 on their federal taxes in return for “donations” to eligible scholarship-granting organizations, or SGOs. These SGOs, in turn, use these funds to cover private school tuition and other educational expenses for a select few students.
At first glance, Hochul’s intention to participate in the voucher scheme might appear harmless. But the danger lies below the surface.
Under this program, SGOs would siphon public money — funds that the federal government would forego through tax-credit reimbursements — into private schools that aren’t held to the same anti-discrimination or educational standards as public schools. A trail of reports has documented countless instances of racism and discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, students with LGBTQ+ parents, and students with disabilities in private schools. While this voucher scheme masquerades as an attempt to broaden the slate of educational options available to families, it fundamentally works to divert public funds into schools that can by law discriminate.
At the same time, many of the private schools that stand to benefit from the voucher scheme have strong religious ties. In Ohio, which opted into the voucher in February 2026, a state comptroller’s audit found that 4 in 5 eligible SGOs exclusively awarded scholarships to religiously affiliated private schools. Participation in this voucher program violates the constitutional principle of church-state separation — a principle that has long prevented taxpayer money from going toward religious activities.
But the stakes of this decision far exceed the bounds of New York’s schools.
Today, our nation has been fractured into states embracing Trump’s push for private school vouchers and states holding the line for public education. While New York has historically rejected vouchers, opting into the program now could signal to other states that participation in this program is acceptable — that the line can be crossed for short-term fiscal gain, or, worse, for electoral favor.
New York has long been a leader in the resistance to federal overreach — and other states are watching. If Hochul goes through with opting New York into the federal voucher program, she risks normalizing a program that funnels public funds into discriminatory private schools and furthering the ongoing erosion to our nation’s constitutional commitments.
Governor Hochul, as you make your final decision, I urge you to consider what is at stake beyond Albany. Hold the line — for New York’s schools, for the students and families that this program would leave behind, and for the strength of church-state separation in this nation.
P.S. Members of Congress have introduced the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act, which would repeal this federal private voucher program. Use AU’s simple online form to urge your representatives to support this important bill, which protects public education and religious freedom.
Alan Chen is a member of Americans United’s Youth Organizing Fellowship program. The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of Americans United.
