Washington could send scholarship dollars elsewhere while students here get nothing

For years, low- and middle-income families have faced a familiar problem: their child needs a tutor, a better computer, specialized services, or some other educational support, but the family budget only stretches so far.

Last week, Seattle families were relieved when a threatened teachers strike was averted at the last minute and schools opened on schedule. But the days of uncertainty were another reminder that a child’s educational needs do not always fit neatly within what a school system can provide.

Beginning next year, a new federal program is designed to help fill some of those gaps.

The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program (FSTC) will allow nonprofit Scholarship Granting Organizations to provide scholarships to eligible low- and middle-income students for K-12 education expenses. Depending on a family’s circumstances, that assistance could help pay for things like tutoring, educational technology, special education services, transportation, school supplies, or tuition.

For families struggling to afford that extra help, the benefit is straightforward: more resources to give their children the support they need to succeed.

Beginning January 1st, taxpayers who donate to an approved Scholarship Granting Organization can receive a federal tax credit of up to $1,700. That gives Washingtonians an opportunity to give back, help another family provide more opportunities for a child, and receive a federal tax benefit for doing it.

Washington Policy Center has laid out more detail on how the program could benefit Washington students, families, and even teachers who frequently purchase classroom materials themselves. Read Washington Policy Center’s FSTC overview.

But there is a catch: our state has to participate.

So far, Gov. Bob Ferguson has not opted the state in.

According to the IRS’s latest list, 30 states have already decided to participate in 2027. Washington is not among them.

And participation is not limited to Republican-led states.

Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has formally opted Colorado in. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, announced in May that she intends to opt New York in, although her administration has said it wants to review the final federal details before completing the process.

That makes Washington’s continued hesitation harder to explain simply as a partisan disagreement over providing parents a choice for their child’s education.

Ferguson has said he is “deeply skeptical of voucher programs” but this program is markedly different from a traditional 1990’s voucher program. He has also directed his administration to determine whether Washington could participate in a way that benefits public-school students. So far, that review has not produced a decision.

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal and the Washington Education Association teachers union have opposed the program, with WEA characterizing it as a federal voucher initiative.

Opting in would not require Washington to cut its public-school budget or create a new state-funded scholarship program. The FSTC is a federal tax credit tied to private donations. Scholarships can also support qualifying educational expenses for students attending public schools, not only private schools.

That is particularly relevant in Washington, where taxpayers have already made a significant investment in education.

As Future42 has previously reported, overall state spending on public schools increased 111% over roughly a decade, even as reading and math performance has struggled to keep pace.

The FSTC does not replace that investment. It gives families another source of help when a child needs something more.

And there is an especially strange consequence if Washington chooses not to participate.

Washington taxpayers may still be able to make qualifying donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations in states that have opted in and receive the federal tax credit. But scholarship organizations are required to use those contributions to provide scholarships within the participating state where they are listed.

In practical terms, a Washington resident could give money to help a child get tutoring, technology, or other educational support, receive a federal tax benefit for that generosity, and watch the resulting scholarship help a family in Colorado or another participating state.

Meanwhile, a family with the same need back home in Washington could be shut out.

Washington families deserve to know why they should be left out.

For a parent trying to afford tutoring for a struggling reader, a computer their child needs for school, or specialized help that simply is not available within the family budget, this debate is not really about the politics of “school choice.”

It is about whether help is available when their child needs it.

And for Washingtonians who want to give back, it is about whether their generosity can help children in their own communities while providing them the same federal tax benefit available elsewhere.

If Ferguson opts Washington in, both can happen here.

If he does not, state taxpayers may still help create those opportunities.

They will just be creating them for students somewhere else.