Millions of Public-School Students are Eligible for New Federal Scholarship

A new scholarship opportunity will soon be available to millions of students nationwide. About 53 million K–12 students—both public- and private-school students—qualify for the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC), which could incentivize upwards of $24 billion in new scholarship funding nationwide.

But wait—how can this be? Isn’t this scholarship program designed for only private school students?

That’s precisely what FSTC opponents falsely insist. In a joint letter, Randi Weingarten and Becky Pringle, presidents of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, respectively, claimed that FSTC “primarily subsidizes private education while draining support from public schools.” (Pringle, who was term-limited, will step down as NEA president on September 1, 2026.)

But the numbers don’t support that claim. In Pennsylvania, about 1.8 million students will be eligible for FSTC. That large number dwarfs the 220,000 students enrolled in Pennsylvania’s private K–12 schools.

The discrepancy between these two numbers is simple: Public school students—who make up roughly 90 percent of all K–12 enrollment—are also FSTC eligible. Per the legislative text that authorized the federal tax credit (emphasis added), students enrolled at or attending “an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school” qualify, so long as they meet the household income eligibility.

FSTC doesn’t “drain” resources; it creates new ones that were never available before. Depending on how many tax-filers donate, Pennsylvania stands to gain anywhere between $32 million and $1 billion in brand-new private funding—at no cost to the commonwealth. Students receiving these funds can pay for tutoring services, after-school programming, books, supplies, and other education-related expenses.

This program defies the public–private dichotomy that often shapes the education debate, which explains why so many states are opting in. So far, 31 states have expressed their intentions to participate in the program, including several states led by Democratic governors, such as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, however, has yet to indicate whether he will opt Pennsylvania in or not. He often tweets about his commitment to “making sure our kids have the resources to get ahead,” so FSTC more than checks that box for the governor. Plus, 71 percent of Pennsylvanians would support his decision to opt in.

FSTC opponents wrongfully see education as a fixed pie, with a finite number of slices that only a finite number of students can enjoy. Taking out one slice means fewer for the rest of the group, this zero-sum worldview erroneously posits. But FSTC doesn’t take a slice away; instead, it makes the pie bigger, providing an abundance of slices for those who never had a bite before.

If you support increased funding for public education students, you should also support opting into the FSTC.