Jewish education advocates welcomed growing state participation in a new federal school choice program, saying it could ease the financial burden many Jewish families face in affording day school education.
The Trump administration announced on Jan. 27 that 23 states have officially opted in to the Education Freedom Tax Credit, a program signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 4.
Beginning in 2027, the program will allow taxpayers to donate up to $1,700 annually to nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations and receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit. Those nonprofits will use the donations to provide scholarships to eligible K-12 students, helping families pay for education-related expenses, including private-school tuition.
Jewish advocacy groups say the program could significantly expand access to Jewish education, particularly as tuition costs continue to rise.
“Today’s announcement brings the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit closer to reality for families. Every state that opts in means more families gaining access to real educational choices for their children,” stated Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of government affairs for Agudath Israel of America. He urged more governors to opt into the program.
Sydney Altfield, national director of Teach Coalition, a Jewish education advocacy group, told JNS that the organization works in states home to more than 90% of the U.S. Jewish day school population.
“This policy eases financial pressure on families, strengthens communities and expands educational opportunity at no cost to the state—priorities that resonate across party lines,” she said.
Altfield called it “deeply encouraging” that states where Teach Coalition is active, including Nevada and Florida, have opted in, and said the organization hopes more states, particularly Democratic-led states such as New York and New Jersey, will follow.
