The 2025 Reconciliation Act, or “One Big Beautiful Bill,” creates a federal school choice program offering tax credits for donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations that fund private-school tuition. Though promoted as flexible for states, forthcoming Treasury Department regulations are expected to limit state control and expand largely unregulated voucher programs. This policy memo warns that such programs have historically led to academic declines, inequities, and weakened public schools. It urges governors to either reject participation or condition their involvement on guarantees of state-level control, transparency, and non-discrimination protections.

Suggested Citation: Welner, K.G. (2025). Federal vouchers, treasury regulations, and state flexibility. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved [date] from http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/vouchers