<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2TxHq9_1GqdTk7e00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2TxHq9_1GqdTk7e00" width="400" height="225" >What benefits does the Washington Student Success Coalition argue for the program?Which states have opted into the federal scholarship tax credit program?WASHINGTON STATE — Gov. Bob Ferguson has not said whether Washington will join a new federal scholarship tax credit program, saying his lawyers are reviewing the rules. “We just got the actual rules, which matter for how these can be implemented, and so we’re taking a close look at those rules,” Ferguson told KOMO News. “We’ve got lawyers taking a look at it. Sometimes the rules aren’t quite as clear as we’d like it to be.”Ferguson said he expects to announce a decision before Jan. 1. The federal program begins in 2027, and 32 states have opted in, after recent announcements from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. The complicated formula was part of the Big Beautiful Bill, and allows states to collect up to one billion dollars for education, proponents say.Mike Preiner, who leads The Math Agency, says the program could help expand tutoring in public schools. The Washington nonprofit provides small-group academic coaching in schools around the Seattle area. Its website says its mission is to close education gaps in public schools and that more than 70% of low-income students in Washington do not meet basic math standards.Preiner said several years of tutoring can double the number of students meeting state standards in high-poverty schools. He argues that scholarship organizations could focus donations on public school students who need tutoring, and that Washington’s participation would make local organizations eligible for tax-credit donations.He is part of the Washington Student Success Coalition. The coalition says organizations could focus scholarships on public school students, struggling readers and lower income communities. Its advocates have described the potential as roughly $1 billion a year.But Chris Reykdal, Washington’s superintendent of public instruction, opposes the program as written. He says the credit would not close school district budget gaps and could mainly help families pay private school costs.“It isn’t free money, and there isn’t an appropriation for it,” Reykdal said. “The state doesn’t get a billion dollars. Our school districts don’t get the money.”Reykdal says Congress should revise the program to focus more narrowly on students from lower-income households or those struggling academically, and give states more authority over how scholarships are used. Under proposed IRS rules issued in October, states could not add restrictions to exclude otherwise qualifying organizations or limit the types of schools and expenses they support. Coalition advocates counter that individual scholarship organizations could set narrower priorities of their own.The rules are still proposed, but states must submit their lists of qualifying organizations for 2027 by Jan. 1 or as early as practicable, according to the IRS. Ferguson has not said whether Washington will participate. He said the state is still reviewing the rules and that it “matters a great deal” to ensure any program Washington uses benefits public school students.</div></body>

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WASHINGTON STATE — Gov. Bob Ferguson has not said whether Washington will join a new federal scholarship tax credit program, saying his lawyers are reviewing the rules. “We just got the actual rules, which matter for how these can be implemented, and so we’re taking a close look at those rules,” Ferguson told KOMO News. “We’ve got lawyers taking a look at it. Sometimes the rules aren’t quite as clear as we’d like it to be.”

Gov. Ferguson noncommittal on joining billion-dollar federal education program

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WASHINGTON STATE — Gov. Bob Ferguson has not said whether Washington will join a new federal scholarship tax credit program, saying his lawyers are reviewi

Gov. Ferguson noncommittal on joining billion-dollar federal education program

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