Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic governor of Virginia, decided to withdraw the state from the Trump administration’s federal school choice program, which is set to begin in 2027. With this decision, Virginia went from being one of the first states to join the program to withdrawing just a few months before it is set to begin.
The program, called the Education Freedom Tax Credit (FSTC), was created under the Tax Cuts for Working Families Act that President Donald Trump signed in July 2025. However, it will take effect in January 2027. Since its announcement, both Republican and Democratic states have signed up to participate. The most recent example is New Mexico, whose Democratic governor chose to enroll the state in the program.
Now, Spanberger has announced that she will withdraw Virginia from the FSTC, arguing that it will not benefit the state’s public schools. The news came after weeks of pressure from the Virginia Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, which had asked the governor to withdraw the state’s participation.
In practice, Virginia residents will still be able to donate to the program and claim those donations as tax deductions, but the scholarships they fund will only be available to students from other states, not those from Virginia.
Virginia had joined the program under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is now leading a national campaign to encourage other states to do the same.
In August, Youngkin launched Empowering America’s Parents, an organization that promotes the FSTC and is conducting a multimillion-dollar awareness campaign in some states that have not yet joined. In its fourth phase, the campaign targeted Hispanic families in Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin and New Mexico, particularly women between the ages of 25 and 45. VOZ exclusively revealed the details of that Spanish-language campaign.
How will Trump’s school choice program work?
Specifically, the FSTC is a program that seeks to expand educational options for K-12 students through scholarships funded by private donations. Its goal is to use the tax system to attract private funds to organizations that award educational scholarships and, in this way, expand the options available to families.
In practice, a taxpayer can donate up to $1,700 per year ($3,400 for married couples filing jointly) to a nonprofit organization dedicated to awarding educational scholarships, known as a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). For that donation, you may receive a federal tax credit equal to the amount contributed, subject to the conditions established by law.
The grants cover eligible educational expenses, including tutoring, online classes, services for students with disabilities, transportation, technology, and private school tuition. Public school students can also receive scholarships for any of these eligible expenses. The complete list is available on the AFC Scholarship Fund.
According to the legislation, any taxpayer subject to federal taxes may donate to an IRS-listed SGO, regardless of which state they live in, and claim the credit. The condition is that the SGO must be located in a state that has decided to participate and has submitted its list of eligible organizations to the IRS.
Children, on the other hand, do depend on their state. The scholarships can only fund students who reside in a participating state. If the state does not join the program, its students are left out, even though local taxpayers may donate to organizations in other states.
You can find more information about the program here.
