Dear Governor Healey,

We, the undersigned individuals, urge you to decline participation in the federal school voucher program established under Section 70411 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

This new program, created by the federal administration as part of their attempt to dismantle the federal Department of Education and slash federal funding for public education, creates a one-to-one individual tax credit, up to $1,700, for cash contributions to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) that distribute vouchers to support private schools.

Massachusetts has built one of the strongest public education systems in the nation through a longstanding commitment to investing in public schools that serve all students. At a time when school districts across the Commonwealth face rising costs, enrollment challenges, transportation pressures, and ongoing funding needs, state policy should focus on protecting and strengthening public education rather than opting into a program that seeks to privatize education. For numerous reasons, the federal school voucher program is wrong for Massachusetts.

1. The federal school voucher program prioritizes private school students over public school students. While public school students are technically eligible for scholarships, the program’s funding mechanism is designed in ways that make large-scale benefits for private school families a guarantee, and large-scale benefits for public school families less likely. Independent analysis has shown that the vast majority of students benefitting from voucher programs are students who were already attending private schools.

2. The federal school voucher program prioritizes wealthy families over low-income students. By making a broad range of higher-income families eligible, including four-person Massachusetts households that earn nearly $500,000 annually, the program risks directing limited funds away from students with the greatest needs.

3. The federal school voucher program threatens the fiscal health of Massachusetts public schools. If Massachusetts opts into the federal voucher program, it would create a new incentive for students to leave public schools for private education, resulting in fewer resources available for the overwhelming majority of students who remain in public schools. Every dollar claimed through the federal tax credit is funding no longer available for critical investments.

4. The federal school voucher program contributes to the rollback of federal investments in public education. Every dollar claimed through the federal tax credit is federal revenue that is no longer available for other public investments, including direct support for public education, as federal policymakers have proposed and implemented major cuts to education programs and funding.

5. The federal school voucher program contains little accountability against the waste, fraud, and abuse of public funds. In other states, voucher programs have fueled a growing market of private vendors and education companies seeking to profit from public subsidies while redirecting public resources away from schools that serve all students.

6. The federal school voucher program is a key piece of the Project 2025 playbook to dismantle public education. The Trump administration has made clear its intent to undermine learning in our classrooms, defund our public schools and colleges, and target our most vulnerable student populations. Accelerating school privatization through this voucher scheme is the next step in this attack on public education.

Families have every right to choose private education for their children, but taxpayers should not be required to subsidize that choice. Whether those public funds come from the state or federal government, Massachusetts should not encourage them to flow toward private institutions that are not accountable for serving all students.

Massachusetts has long understood that expanding educational opportunity requires sustained investment in public institutions that serve every student, regardless of income, disability status, language background, race, religion, or ZIP code. The federal voucher program moves the Commonwealth in the opposite direction.

For these reasons, we respectfully urge you to opt out of the federal school voucher scheme and to reaffirm Massachusetts' commitment to strengthening the public schools that serve nearly every child in the Commonwealth.