An open letter signed by more than 30 educator union leaders from states with Democratic governors calls participation in federal voucher program unacceptable
New York State United Teachers and Illinois Federation of Teachers today mobilized educator union leaders from across the country in urging Democratic governors to reject participation in President Trump’s private school voucher tax credit program and publicly reaffirm their commitment to public education.
In an open letter to all 24 Democratic governors, more than 30 educator union leaders representing millions of teachers, school staff and public employees are urging the governors to opt out of the program, which would provide federal tax credits for donations to organizations that fund private school tuition.
The educators warn that participation would legitimize a federally subsidized voucher scheme that diverts resources away from public schools and accelerates the privatization of education. The president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Stacy Davis Gates, and the president of New York State United Teachers, Melinda Person, spearheaded the multistate effort.
“Public education is one of the Democratic Party’s defining commitments,” the national letter states. “At this moment, educators, parents and communities across the country are asking a simple question: Will Democratic governors stand up for public schools?”
The federal voucher program was established as part of the Republican education agenda and is a cornerstone of Project 2025. Evidence from states that have implemented similar voucher programs shows that while they’re billed as “school choice,” they overwhelmingly subsidize families already enrolled in private schools while creating significant fiscal pressures on public education systems.
"Let's be honest about what's happening here: this could completely change how public schools are funded, and the biggest winners will be the people trying to privatize public education,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “This is a choice about whether we're willing to normalize vouchers and move further down a path that has already hurt public schools in state after state. Democratic governors should not help legitimize a scheme that benefits private interests while undermining the public schools that serve 90 percent of our children."
In the letter, union presidents note that the 2024 Democratic National Committee platform explicitly opposed “private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and other schemes that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education.”
“Democratic governors are being handed a test right now: Will you stand up for public school students or will you help Donald Trump normalize a voucher scheme that Illinois has already rejected?” said IFT President Stacy Davis Gates. “The Democratic Party platform opposes vouchers, our governors should too.”
The Illinois General Assembly already rejected vouchers because they funded discrimination and diverted $315 million from the state’s General Revenue Fund to private schools.
“Now Trump is repackaging the same failed experiment as a federal tax credit, and Democratic governors across the country are being asked to give it a stamp of approval,” Davis Gates said. “Every governor who opts in colludes with Donald Trump at the expense of their own public schools. Illinois should not be one of them.”
The letter concludes with a call for strength.
“Democratic governors have long served as a firewall against efforts to dismantle public institutions,” it reads. “We urge you to continue that leadership now.”
Federal School Voucher Tax Credit Program Opposition Letter
Open Letter to Our Democratic Governors:
As presidents of statewide educators unions representing millions of public school employees, we write to urge you to reject participation in the proposed federal private school voucher tax credit program advanced by President Trump and congressional Republicans.
Public education is one of the Democratic Party’s defining commitments — a promise that every child, in every ZIP code, deserves access to a great public school regardless of their parents’ income . At this moment, educators, parents and communities across the country are asking a simple question: Will Democratic governors stand up for public schools?
Voucher schemes undermine the very foundation of public education by diverting public resources away from neighborhood schools and into private institutions that are not subject to the same standards of accountability, transparency, civil rights protections or democratic oversight. These concerns are compounded by the well-documented history of voucher programs tracing back to efforts to resist school integration following desegregation, as well as repeated warnings from civil rights organizations that modern voucher schemes continue to deepen racial and economic segregation in education.
We are especially concerned because the overwhelming evidence shows these programs do not improve student outcomes. In state after state, voucher programs have expanded far beyond their original claims, primarily subsidizing families already enrolled in private schools while weakening the public schools that educate the vast majority of children.
This proposal is also a central priority outlined in Project 2025 — the far-right blueprint for reshaping the federal government and dismantling public institutions. Its inclusion there made clear that these voucher tax credit schemes are not isolated policy ideas, but part of a broader effort to privatize public education and erode public accountability.
Supporters of this proposal point to limited or incidental benefits for some public school students or districts. But no temporary benefit is worth legitimizing a policy designed to weaken public education itself. Public schools should not be asked to participate in their own dismantling.
The 2024 Democratic National Committee platform clearly and unequivocally rejected these policies, stating that Democrats “oppose the use of private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and other schemes that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education.”
We urge Democratic governors to uphold not only that platform commitment but the core values of the party itself. At a moment when public education is under coordinated attack, neutrality or accommodation is unacceptable. Democratic leaders should be unequivocal in defending public schools as a public good and rejecting efforts to privatize them through federal tax policy.
This proposal is not “school choice.” It is a federally subsidized tax shelter designed to accelerate privatization while reducing investment in the schools that serve every student, in every community, every day.
Democratic governors have long served as a firewall against efforts to dismantle public institutions and privatize public goods. We urge you to continue that leadership now by opting your state out of this program and publicly affirming your commitment to strong public schools.
Public education remains one of the last truly universal institutions in American life. It deserves investment — not abandonment.
We stand ready to work with you to strengthen public schools and expand opportunities for every student.