July 2, 2025

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Take Action to Stop Federal Vouchers!

A huge tax cut for the wealthy in the form of a private school voucher tax credit is in the U.S. budget bill that has passed the Senate and is back in the House. It has been revised, but maintains the same essential structure and function of the original.

The budget bill is being discussed and may be voted on any day. At the same time, the U.S. The Department of Education under Trump’s direction just withheld nearly $7 BILLION in federal public education dollars from states. North Carolina stands to lose more than $165.4 million if the cuts are allowed to stand. The spending was Congressionally approved in prior budgets, so legal action is likely.

The harmful voucher program basically functions as a tax shelter that provides dollar-for-dollar tax credits for people who give money to organizations that distribute vouchers. This voucher tax credit scheme preferences donating to voucher programs because it pays out 100%, dollar-for dollar tax credits. Most other charitable giving, such as donations to hospitals, veterans’ assistance groups, homeless shelters, etc. receive no more than 35% of each dollar donated.

The previous version put a cap of $4 BILLION/year for the program. The current version of the voucher tax credit has no cap, which means that tens of billions each year could be siphoned away from public use.

Currently, North Carolina does not have the type of voucher program described by the federal bill, so it would add a NEW VOUCHER PROGRAM to the current programs that already take hundreds of millions in tax dollars that should be funding other state programs.

The federal program does not require voucher recipients to have ever attended a public school (similar to current NC programs), so the money will effectively shift tax revenue from the public sector to private school families. Any family that has an income at or below 300% of their local area median income would be eligible to apply. This means that in high-income areas, even millionaires could receive the tax-funded voucher.

Don’t let federal lawmakers fund billions in private school vouchers through tax credits while they make cuts to public education, Medicaid, food aid for low-income families (SNAP), environmental protections, FEMA, and more.

Contact your U.S. House Representatives to voice your strong opposition to tax cuts for our wealthiest citizens:

Then send an email to urge them to reject the federal voucher program. Please personalize the email to make it your own!

 

Help us support public schools!

Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused solely

on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents, teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each child for productive citizenship.

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]