The new Education Freedom Tax Credit could shift billions in private donations to students, but states that do not opt in risk losing large amounts of education funding and scholarship opportunities; an America First Policy Institute analysis and an interactive Funding Loss Calculator put those potential losses in plain numbers and put pressure on governors to decide whether they want dollars and choice to stay in their states.
GET RID OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. GIVE POWER TO PARENTS appears in the conversation because this tax-credit effort centers power with families rather than Washington bureaucrats. The analysis says 23 states stand to miss out on nearly $23 billion from 2027 through 2029, translating into millions of forgone scholarship chances. That kind of lost private support matters when families are already squeezed by limited local options.
The group behind the analysis built an interactive Funding Loss Calculator so residents and officials can see state-by-state impacts and model different participation rates. The tool is meant to make the tradeoffs concrete instead of abstract. For governors weighing the choice, raw numbers are harder to ignore than talking points.
“We wanted to make sure that governors know and especially, the people in the states know, what is being foregone if they do not opt in to this federal tax credit scholarship program,” Erika Donalds, chair of educational opportunity at AFPI, told Fox News Digital. Those words underline the central political question: will state leaders allow private donations to help their kids or will they let those dollars go elsewhere? Voters deserve to see the consequences laid out plainly.
“The program will provide not just private school tuition, but homeschool expenses, curriculum assistance, tutoring, special needs services, dual enrollment and so many other resources for families,” Donalds said, adding that the funds come from private donations and not state budgets. By design, this is private philanthropy directed at families, not a new state entitlement program. That distinction matters politically and practically for conservatives who want less government spending and more parental control.
So far, 28 governors have chosen to opt in and accept the program’s framework. Under the policy, taxpayers can receive up to $1,700 in dollar-for-dollar federal tax credits for donations to scholarship-granting organizations that cover K–12 costs like tuition, homeschooling, tutoring and services for special needs. Participation decides who benefits: students in participating states can access scholarships, while others cannot.
When a state opts out, taxpayers there can still claim the credit, but their donations get redirected to scholarship organizations in participating states. That effectively sends private education funding across state lines instead of keeping it for local families. The calculator lets users test participation rates and project how much their state might lose, turning abstract policy into measurable fiscal outcomes.
“Every parent deserves to make education decisions on behalf of their children. We have seen state after state where parents are begging for school choice options,” Donalds said. “In Texas, in just one month, 250,000 applicants for a school choice program that is only going to accommodate about 80,000 students. In Tennessee, over 50,000 applications for a program that accommodates 20,000 students. There should not be wait lists on education freedom,” she added. Those are not partisan anecdotes; they are demand signals showing families want alternatives now.
The political choice is clear: governors can bring private dollars into their states to expand options or they can let those donations help families elsewhere. For conservative leaders, the practical and ideological case lines up — more parental choice, less federal control, and private funding that does not increase state budgets. The Funding Loss Calculator gives citizens a tool to press for action and forces a public reckoning about whether leaders will let opportunities leave their states.
LA UNITED SCHOOL DISTRICT SCANDAL LEADS TO CHARGES AS $22M SCHEME ALLEGEDLY DRAINED FUNDS MEANT FOR STUDENTS
