Virginia Education Association Condemns Youngkin’s Last-Minute Move to Opt Virginia Into Federal Voucher Tax Credit
January 13, 2026
January 13, 2026
The Virginia Education Association (VEA) strongly condemns Governor Glenn Youngkin’s announcement that he has “formally” opted Virginia into the new federal Education Freedom Tax Credit (also known as the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit), a federal voucher-style program scheduled to begin in 2027.
Governor Youngkin is leaving office next week, and this reckless, last-ditch announcement is an inappropriate attempt to lock Virginia into a program before the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have finalized the rules that will determine how the program works and how it will affect Virginia students and communities.
The federal law creating this program does not take effect until January 1, 2027, and federal guidance is still being developed. The next governor will have the responsibility to review the final Treasury and IRS guidance and decide, with full information on the table, whether participation is in the best interest of Virginia’s students and schools. Governor Youngkin should not be attempting to opt Virginia in at this point.
VEA’s analysis shows what’s at stake: Virginia public schools could lose between $222 million and $956 million every year starting in 2027 if Virginia participates and students are pulled out of public schools into private voucher programs. As detailed in VEA’s report, Federal Vouchers, Local Consequences: What’s at Stake for Virginia’s Public Schools, even modest participation rates in other states have translated into significant enrollment loss and severe budget impacts for public schools.
Research from states with large voucher programs also shows students often experience significant academic declines after switching from public to private schools using vouchers, especially in math and reading, while private schools remain less accountable for results, student rights, and public transparency.
“This is an outrageous, last-minute political stunt by an outgoing governor who has repeatedly pursued policies that undermine public education, and who is now attempting to jam Virginia into a federal voucher scheme before the rules are even written,” said Carol Bauer, President of the Virginia Education Association. “The consequences for Virginia’s public schools are massive: our analysis shows losses could reach nearly a billion dollars a year. That means bigger class sizes, fewer educators, fewer course offerings, and fewer supports for students, all to subsidize private schools that can pick and choose who they serve. Governor-elect Spanberger was elected to make decisions for Virginia’s future, and she should have the full guidance in hand before making any determination about whether Virginia should participate.”
In his announcement, Governor Youngkin also identified an initial list of scholarship-granting organizations, including national organizations that have long advocated for expanding private-school voucher programs. VEA urges Virginia policymakers to reject predatory, unaccountable voucher schemes and to advance clear safeguards through state law to protect students and public dollars, especially if any attempt is made to treat this outgoing administration’s “opt-in” as binding.
VEA calls on Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger to review Treasury and IRS guidance as it is released, ensure the public has transparency into the program’s implications for Virginia, and make the best decision for students, families, and communities, starting with protecting the public schools that educate the overwhelming majority of Virginia’s children.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, teachers in Virginia earn 67 cents on the dollar compared to other (non-teacher) college-educated workers. Virginia’s teacher wage penalty is the worst in the nation.
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