Aspen Ford reports that Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has yet to decide whether to join the 31 states that have opted into the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, which begins in January and lets taxpayers donate up to $1,700 to approved scholarship-granting organizations for a dollar-for-dollar federal credit. Advocates call participation a “no-brainer” that could bring hundreds of millions to Washington students, while critics view it as a voucher program by another name that will divert funding to private institutions. At a Washington Policy Center panel, former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called opting in “not just an educational opportunity” but a “moral obligation,” stressing the money is “additive” and replaces no existing dollars, while DFER CEO Jorge Elorza said the program could “create millions of new philanthropists” and estimated it could net over $700 million in added student spending in Washington. Scholarships are limited to families at or below 300% of area median income (around $374,000 in King County).
Ford lays out the opposition. University of Washington finance professor David Knight warns it won’t remove the threat of public-school budget cuts and is “especially problematic” if program-funded services substitute for constitutionally mandated basic education, noting lawmakers recently cut programs like Transition to Kindergarten. The Washington Education Association’s Toni Lindquist calls it a federal voucher scheme lacking public schools’ transparency and accountability standards, and Superintendent Chris Reykdal has said the program “needs a substantial rewrite” that primarily enriches private providers. Republican Reps. Michael Keaton and Jim Walsh have urged Ferguson to opt in, with Keaton calling it “free federal dollars.” Ferguson, who hasn’t spoken publicly, is reportedly waiting for final program rules, expected in the coming weeks; Duncan argued that even absent that, keeping money in-state beats sending it to Washington, D.C.