At a time when public schools are struggling with teacher layoffs and program cuts, a new pot of money could become available next year to boost public and private education in Massachusetts — if Governor Maura Healey agrees to take it.
The federal government on Thursday released long-awaited regulations governing the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit. The program is controversial because it is, effectively, a backdoor voucher program that lets public money subsidize private school tuition.
But, importantly, it also lets the same pot of money improve public schools — paying for technology, afterschool programs, tutoring, and special needs services.
Healey should take the money.
Although she has until Jan. 1 to make Massachusetts eligible for the funding in 2027, Healey should opt in soon. That will give her time to use her bully pulpit and state resources to shape the program to have the biggest possible positive impact on public schools that need it most.
Under the program, taxpayers can donate to a nonprofit scholarship granting organization of their choice and get a federal income tax credit up to $1,700 to match their donation. So an individual giving $1,700 or married couple giving $3,400 effectively donates for free.
The scholarship granting organization can give scholarship money to any student whose family earns less than 300 percent of area median income ($500,000 for a family of four in the Boston area). Foster children and children receiving public benefits are categorically eligible without having to prove their income.
To help lower-income districts, schools drawing primarily from low-income census tracts — including parts of Boston, Lawrence, Springfield, Chelsea, and other poorer cities — can use the money to pay for tutoring and special education for all students, without verifying individual family incomes.
For private and parochial schools, this money could provide financial aid for tuition. For public schools, it could cover things like books, supplies, computers, tutoring, or afterschool activities. (The federal government plans to release additional information about eligible expenses.) The size of scholarships will be up to the scholarship granting organizations.
How much money Massachusetts schools would get depends on how many people donate. The American Federation for Children’s calculator estimates that if 10 percent of eligible Massachusetts taxpayers (around 290,000 people) give to scholarship granting organizations operating in Massachusetts, that would amount to $459 million in 2027. How much goes to public versus private schools would depend on which scholarship granting organizations taxpayers donate to.
While states must submit lists of approved scholarship granting organizations to the federal government, states may not add their own requirements — for example, requiring an organization to only fund scholarships at public schools.
One concern critics have is the program could disproportionately benefit wealthier districts and private schools. After all, private schools with wealthy alumni networks or public school districts with tax-savvy, high-earning parents will be easier to solicit donations from.
That’s why it will be important for nonprofits and school districts serving low-income students to create scholarship granting organizations and find creative ways to fund them — like allowing employees to contribute through payroll tax deductions or partnering with local employers to solicit employee contributions. Healey and other state leaders could fund-raise for scholarship granting organizations that benefit programs in needy districts.
Another valid concern is that if increased availability of financial aid makes private education more affordable, some students may leave public schools for private schools. Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, told the editorial board he worries this will lead to a more stratified education system where “the ‘haves’ end up in private schools, the ‘have nots’ in public schools.”
Enrollment in Massachusetts public schools is already declining for reasons ranging from demographic shifts to federal immigration policy to dissatisfaction with COVID-era practices. As schools lose students, they lose the state money that comes with each student.
Private school tuition is expensive, and certainly, added financial aid could make a difference to middle-class families on the margins of being able to afford it. But declining enrollment also points to a need to use all available money — including the new scholarships — to improve the quality of public schools, so parents want to keep their children there.
So far, 30 states, though only a handful with Democratic governors, have opted into the program.
If Massachusetts opts out, some taxpayers will still contribute money, but that money will flow out of state. Opting in is the only way to keep potentially hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for education in Massachusetts. Our schools — private and public — could use that money.
Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us @GlobeOpinion.