BENNETT, MOHRMAN: 2026 will give us over 1,000 ways to boost educational freedom
2026 is going to be a watershed year for education policy in the United States. It will be the year that will be known a decade and beyond as when the signature federal education policy of this era took shape.
From the news coverage, you may assume I am writing about the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education. I am not. As the former head of that department — charged myself with its elimination — I don’t want to say bureaucratic organizational charts in D.C. and department names are meaningless. However, those things have precious little to do with what is going on with most families and students.
Despite the noise and fury around all that, what is actually the signature policy of this time — the key achievement of this administration and Congress — is the newly enacted federal tax credit scholarship program. In a nutshell, every taxpayer who owes federal taxes in America will be able to make a choice starting in 2027. Either send $1,700 in taxes to the swamp to do whatever it is they do with it, or donate $1,700 to a non-profit Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), which in turn must give out 90% of those funds to students (in families earning no more than 300% of the area median income) for scholarships to fund all kinds of educational programming.
Some have focused on the potential use of these scholarships to empower families with private school choice options, and that is a great thing. However, it is worth noting that families can access scholarships for all kinds of other uses, from tutoring to supplemental classes to unique educational programming on anything, from character development to astronomy to history, and anything in between.
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Every taxpayer in America can take this option starting January 1, 2027, and if they have paid $1,700, they receive $1,700 credit, making the donation to fund scholarships a net zero cost to the individual.
There is a catch. For an SGO to award scholarships in a state, the governor must "opt in." While some governors have had a knee-jerk reaction of "No!" you can mark my words most or all will reconsider in the coming years. This program is a cost-free way for states to generate hundreds of millions in new educational programming funds for all students. Parents will not long tolerate millions flowing out of their states to fund supplemental educational activities in other states. That is not a red state or blue state thing.
The entire program must be built from the ground up in 2026. For it to ramp up to its potential in 2027, that needs to happen quickly, and it needs to happen in a way that maximizes the ability of both SGOs and innovative educators to participate. Most of all, in a way that maximizes the ability of parents to be the ultimate decision-makers. When in doubt, just ask this basic question: Which route most empowers parents and creates the most options to choose from.
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So, I want to close with some homework assignments for everyone for 2026:
For the Trump administration: Move quickly to get the rules in place so that everyone involved has the time be ready on January 1, 2027. Minimize both federal interference and the ability of states to place limits on SGOs and, most critically, on parents.
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For blue state parents and teachers: Contact your governor. Tell them to take a second look at this opportunity, absent the partisan lens. Tell them to "opt in" so the families in your state can also benefit from this influx of millions in educational resources at zero cost to the state.
For educational innovators: Now is your time and chance to reach and impact exponentially more students and families. Look into creating an SGO. Begin to build the collaborations and lay the groundwork so this program launches with thousands of quality options.
For all taxpayers: Put in place a plan to participate immediately in 2027. Scholarships can only be given out by SGOs after they have actually received funds. Employers, work with your employees and payroll systems come January 2027. It is easy to exercise this cost-free option to advance educational freedom.
If we all are diligent in completing our 2026 assignments, 2027 will see a wonderful blooming of educational options and unprecedented freedom across the entire nation.
Christopher Mohrman is the CEO of Resilience Learning.