Jared Polis, governor of Colorado, decided to join Trump’s voucher plan, which subsidizes private school choice with public money. Please note that Colorado voters recently rejected an amendment to the State Constitution to fund school choice.

Governor Polis’s sunny description of his decision is a triumph of hope over experience. After nearly three decades of experience with charters and vouchers, it is clear that they are not necessarily better than public schools, that they foster discrimination, that they have not spurred innovation, that many rely on uncertified teachers, etc.

Jenny Brunson of Colorado Public Radio has the story.

Colorado will participate in a first-of-its-kind federal tax credit voucher program that could help fund private education.

Gov. Jared Polis made the announcement at a gathering of private and religious school choice advocates Thursday, as he simultaneously lobbies the federal government for stricter oversight to prevent the program from devolving into “fraud, waste, and abuse.”

The program, established under the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill,” offers a 100 percent federal tax credit — up to $1,700 annually — for donations made to Scholarship Granting Organizations, or SGOs. Families could then take advantage of the scholarships.

While religious and other school-choice advocates applauded the announcement, a coalition of public-school advocates in Colorado have voiced strong opposition to participating in the program. And Polis’ written comments to the IRS reveal a deep-seated concern that the federal government’s draft rules may strip states of their ability to regulate the program.

The Treasury Department is currently writing rules for the program, which will start in 2027.

At Thursday’s event, Polis framed participating in the program as a pragmatic win for students that will provide additional resources for tuition, tutoring to address learning loss, special needs services, or education technology, among other uses.

“Really, it’s only our own creativity that can hold us back,” he said. “Anything we can envision, this is a very powerful funding mechanism…”

Critics warn program could ‘dismantle’ public education

On Wednesday, a coalition of public education advocates held a separate national press conference to urge governors to reject what they termed a “Trump school voucher tax scheme” that would divert public dollars to private schools and undermine public education nationwide.

Dawn Fritz, representing the Colorado PTA, said voucher-style tax credit programs often don’t protect students’ rights.

“Voucher systems usually lack accountability,” said Fritz. “They deprive students of the rights and protections they would receive in public schools, and they fail in providing adequate services for students most in need, including students with disabilities, low-income students, and students who are English language learners.”

Colorado voters have rejected previous private school choice proposals three times.

“We have defeated them at the ballot box,” she said. “We have defeated them at the state legislature. We need our governor to stand with us to defeat vouchers once again.”

Oversight concerns

After conversations with U.S. Treasury staff about the rules, others share the governor’s concerns that the current draft rules would leave states powerless to protect students or taxpayers.

“It seems very likely that the regulations will preclude individual states from engaging in any kind of regulation or oversight — either over the Scholarship Giving Organizations or the organizations receiving the voucher funding,” said Lisa Weil, executive director of Great Education Colorado. “Unfortunately, this is tax policy, not education policy.”

Governors may be limited to passing on a list of SGOs that meet basic requirements, according to the IRS’s initial interpretation of the law.

“The opportunities for discrimination and fraud are rife,” Weil said.

At Wednesday’s national press conference, Damaris Allen, with Families for Strong Public Schools and a parent of Florida public school students, spoke of millions of dollars in unaccountable spending in Florida’s program, vouchers being used at “unaccredited private schools,” and students with disabilities waiving federal protections.

An auditor’s report found that the program paid for 30,000 students that the state can’t accurately track, and showed widespread instances where students were simultaneously enrolled in public schools while their families received private scholarship funds. 

“Our homeschool students have used taxpayer-funded vouchers to purchase lavish vacations, do crazy things like use taxpayer dollars to have an RV, drive across this country, and take trips, buy paddle boards, Disney tickets, TVs, and even patio furniture.”

At least 30 states have decided to opt into the program.