Gov. Ned Lamont is still weighing whether the state will participate in the first federal tax credit program to help eligible families pay for tuition at private schools or academic, tutoring and classroom supplies at public schools.
The Treasury Department has yet to issue regulations on whether state governors will be able to limit the use of funds to strictly organizations that serve public schools, according to education experts.
“We are actively assessing what has been released so far on this program and are awaiting additional guidance from Treasury before making a determination on whether it can be administered in a way that safeguards the best interests of Connecticut students, families, and schools,” said David Bednarz, spokesman for the governor’s office.
Bednarz said the state’s participation in the program would require the General Assembly to approve legislation.
State Rep. Jennifer Leeper, co-chair of the Education Committee, said she would like to see more guidance on how the state could direct scholarships and if the scholarships could be used for after school programs, tutoring or summer programming.
“I am not interested in furthering a system that is drawing down dollars out of our public schools and incentivizing children out of our public schools,” she said.
The federal tax credit program created under President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill “establishes a new federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions made to a Scholarship Granting Organization,” according to information from the U.S. Department of Education. The Department of Education defined SGOs as “nonprofits that accept qualified contributions from individuals and use the funds to provide scholarships for education-related services at private or public schools.”
The federal program is expected to begin in 2027, enabling taxpayers that make donations to SGOs to claim the credit on their 2027 tax return.
Several education advocates said the program is akin to voucher tax credit programs in other states which they view as denigrating public education.
The Archdiocese of Hartford shared a differing view, advocating for the scholarships it says will provide an alternative education without impacting public schools. A Harvard professor noted there is no evidence that shows that the programs have affected financial support for public schools.
The U.S. Department of Education said in a statement that the scholarship does not take money from local or state taxes, “which make up the large majority of school funding.
“Instead, the program encourages voluntary charitable giving from American taxpayers to support education services for qualifying students,” the department said in its release.
“The Trump Administration is delivering the largest national investment in education choice through the Education Freedom Tax Credit, now supported by nearly half of America’s governors from both sides of the aisle,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement.
The department said further that the tax credit program is expected to “empower families to select the schools, learning services, supports or materials best suited to their children’s needs.”
So far, 24 states have opted into the program including New Hampshire, which agreed to participate late last month.
Concerns about the tax credit
Kate Dias, the president of Connecticut Education Association, said the federal tax-credit program is another “form of a voucher program where we take public dollars and we assign them to individuals for the purpose of funding private education systems.
“When we frame it that way we are acknowledging that we are taking public resources to fund private entities that have no public oversight which is also problematic to us,” she said. “While the federal tax credit feels like it won’t have state impact, the reality is that monies that are taken out of the federal coffers reduce the ability of the federal government to contribute back to the states.”
Dias said, “we all need to understand that the current administration has done everything in its power to reduce its obligations to public education and public services. Why would we think that they are setting up a program to do anything other than that?”
The School + State Finance Project said that if Connecticut opts into the new tax credit scholarship program “there could be significant impacts on students attending public schools.
“The full impacts, however, will depend on the extent and nature in which the state participates in the program,” the School + State Finance Project said.
The nonpartisan policy organization said the uncertainty regarding states’ ability to craft regulations for SGOs as well as the “unknown but forthcoming regulations from the Treasury Department will define the impacts on Connecticut students and families.”
Patrice McCarthy, executive director and general counsel, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, said “based on information we received at our NSBA Advocacy conference this program diverts federal resources that are needed to support public schools and other national priorities to private programs.”
Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, said the program is not good for public education.
Casey Cobb, NEAG professor of Education policy at UConn, also shared concerns about the new federal tax credit program, fearing that if there is more use of private school vouchers then students will leave public schools.
“There are fixed costs to keep the lights on,” he said of public schools.
He said that the Education Cost Sharing Grant which provides the majority of state education funding is tied to student enrollment.
“So if 100 students leave the district, the town’s ECS funding would drop,” he said.
He said the town would have to raise taxes to cover the shortfall.
Cobb said there are many states that have adopted their own voucher programs and that research has shown that “people who donate are wealthier families and the monies go back into the wealthier communities because they are the ones getting the tax breaks.
“It is not equitable,” he said.
Martin West, academic dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said “there is no evidence which I am aware of that the creation of these programs has undermined financial support for public schools in the states in which they operate.”
He said this in part due to the amount of the subsidy for the program, which he said is generally less than what the state is paying for students to enroll in public schools.
Further, he said it is not clear how the scholarship programs affect academic outcomes “because most programs to date have not included strong accountability or transparency requirements.”
School choice
David Elliott, director of communications and public relations for the Archdiocese of Hartford, said the Catholic Bishops of Connecticut and Archbishop Christopher Coyne are “very supportive in urging Gov. Lamont to opt into the program that will provide alternative education, including a Catholic education, without taking away funds from public education.”
“The scholarship tax credit is a reasonable way to encourage limited giving to organizations that provide economic aid to underserved children,” he said. “The Connecticut Catholic Conference, at the direction of the bishops, has been building grass roots support to urge lawmakers and the governor to take advantage of this program.”
The Courant sent inquiries to several private schools including The Cornerstone Christian School, Heritage Baptist Academy, and Christian Heritage School. The Cornerstone Christian School said it could not comment in time for this article while the other schools did not respond.
The U.S. Department of Education said in a release that “research indicates that students who receive scholarships to attend a school of choice have improved academic outcomes.
“Among the 16 randomized controlled trial evaluations (RCTs) that have examined the impact of school choice on academic achievement, 10 found positive impacts for some or all participants,” the department said.