For months, governors across the country have awaited U.S. Treasury guidelines on the use of a Federal Scholarship Tax Credit set to launch January 1, 2027. Those guidelines have now been released, and the picture they paint for public education is worse than we could have imagined.   The FSTC would release tens of billions of federal dollars to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) to provide services ranging from special education and autism support to private school tuition and high-dosage tutoring for students. Taxpayers who donate to SGOs would receive a dollar-for-dollar credit up to $1,700 per individual, or $3,400 per household, with no income limits.   Joslyn DeLancey The Trump administration has said that federal tax credit funds would not be limited to private schools; public school students could, ostensibly, benefit. The Treasury’s newly released guidelines tell a different story.  SGOs act as middlemen for private equity firms, and the FSTC’s launch will provide these brokers with a strong, steady, reliable cash flow. The guidance around the FSTC tax scheme not only lets SGOs keep a 10 percent cut of every contribution, but it also gives them full decision-making power over where that money goes. They could decide every dollar they receive, for example, goes to religious schools.   Under those same guidelines, states cannot impose a single guardrail on these funds. They cannot earmark them for students from low-income families or ensure they don’t discriminate. They cannot ensure these funds go where they would do the most good.  The newly released guidelines only underscore widespread concerns about tens of billions of taxpayer dollars pouring into private schools and private-equity-owned education service providers. Education decisions would no longer be in the hands of public school parents, teachers, and boards of education; they would transfer to wealthy financial and tech investors.   On the face of it, a $1,700 tax credit, especially one that’s reported to help all students,  seems hard to argue against. Look at the fine print, though, and you’ll see that it’s another voucher scheme designed to almost exclusively benefit the wealthy, direct money to private schools and service providers, and leave students and families with the greatest need behind.   As a Stamford resident, longtime public school teacher in Darien, and vice president of the Connecticut Education Association, which represents educators all over the state — including Bridgeport and Danbury— I have seen firsthand the disparity in resources among school districts in Fairfield County. This tax credit codifies and deepens those inequities.   Under this new initiative, high income families in Fairfield County will have the luxury of choosing to divert their tax dollars to private educational programs. These programs don’t have to follow the same rules, and taxpayers will have little to no say over what happens with those scholarships. There’s no guarantee of equitable distribution, and one thing is for certain: those dollars will not find their way to our public schools.   Governors have until December 31 to opt into this voucher scheme, and those who care about preserving and improving the quality of their state’s education system will take a hard pass.   We don’t need a crystal ball to know how this private equity scheme will play out in Connecticut’s public schools.  We’ve had a front-row seat to private equity’s destruction and abandonment of local hospitals and nursing homes, saddling them with enormous debt, stripping services down to the bare minimum, cutting core staff and resources, then cashing out and leaving.   This has already happened with private equity-owned education service providers as well, including FEV tutoring, which closed overnight, leaving families across 30 states scrambling.   For those who are undecided about the tax credit, the following questions are helpful:   How do we ensure smaller class sizes, equitable funding, and accountability in our public schools under this initiative?   Public schools are already underfunded by the federal government, especially special education. If tax dollars are diverted to public programs, won’t we pay for the tax credit either in property or state taxes to make up the difference?  This program will create winners out of a few private companies selling educational services. Wouldn’t that raise the cost for services delivered to public schools?  Fairfield County has some of the best public-school systems in the state, and we pride ourselves on that. Do we want to risk the quality of our public schools?   Tax credits and scholarships may sound really exciting. In this case, you’re not saving money, and you’re not necessarily helping kids in need. You’re just playing a shell game: moving public dollars into private systems. Connecticut could and should do better. Imagine if we truly committed to investing in our public schools instead of buying into gimmicks.   If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.   Say no to the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit.   Joslyn DeLancey is vice president of the Connecticut Education Association.     ...read more read less