Commentary: Federal vouchers will hurt New York’s public schools (Times Union)

The private school voucher program enacted by Congress in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” is part of the Trump administration’s broader scheme to dismantle public education and strip protections from our most vulnerable students. Because the federal government cannot compel states to redirect public dollars to private schools, the program requires each governor to opt in. The message to governors everywhere is clear: Resist.

It is with deep concern, then, that we learned of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s stated intent to opt New York into the program. 

New York does not have a private school voucher program, and there are good reasons for that. Weakening public schools weakens our democracy, since public education is one of democracy’s most important cornerstones.

Vouchers first appeared in the segregated South, where white families used them to flee integrated public schools for so-called “segregation academies” after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate schooling is “inherently unequal.” 

Students using vouchers are generally more affluent, attend private schools and often take advantage of legacy admissions. Private schools that accept voucher dollars have been known to routinely discriminate against children with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students and families, multilingual learners and economically disadvantaged students who have often been unfairly subjected to a legacy of underfunded schools and poverty.

Despite what voucher proponents would have New Yorkers believe, there is no “private” or “free” money in the federal program. It is structured as a “tax credit scholarship” that allows individuals to redirect what they would otherwise owe in federal taxes to a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), which in turn distributes vouchers to families. Contributors to SGOs receive a 100% credit on their federal taxes, up to $1,700 annually, unlike charitable donations that trigger a minimal tax deduction or credit. 

In addition, every dollar that goes to the federal voucher program is a dollar that doesn’t make it into the U.S. Treasury to support public goods like education, senior services, improved public transportation, etc. With so many public schools already underfunded, including in New York, there’s no excuse for poaching public funding.

Some governors have fallen for the false rhetoric peddled by voucher supporters that public schools will benefit from this program. Even before federal regulations are released, the voucher law itself provides plenty of clarity: SGOs cannot send voucher funds to public schools, they can only distribute vouchers to individual students. 

The vast majority of SGOs already set up in many states and ready to pounce on these public dollars only fund families choosing private education — as well as keeping up to 10% of the money for themselves. The crumbs that privatization may leave in its wake for public school students will overwhelmingly be used to pay private companies for things like tutoring and computers. That’s because public schools do not charge for the vast majority of the services they provide.

Private school vouchers consistently undermine the notion of equal educational opportunity, which is the core principle behind the guarantee of public education in New York. 

Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, whom we lost just over a year ago, was a tireless champion of public education and of every child’s civil right to learn. Her life’s work, and the work of generations of civil rights leaders before her, is the reason New York’s constitution promises a sound, well-funded, public school system that welcomes every child. 

Diverting public resources to private institutions that are free to discriminate is a retreat from that promise.

Polls have shown that parents support their local public schools and want taxpayer money to be used for public education.

Gov. Hochul, New York does not need this program, and New York’s children cannot afford it. The Education Committee of the NAACP New York State Conference urges you, in the strongest terms, to withdraw your stated intent to opt in and, instead, to recommit to the public schools that serve nearly every family in this state.

Christine Waters is chair of the Education Committee at the NAACP New York State Conference.