Times Union: Hochul’s decision on federal school choice program should be just the first step
Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that New York would opt into the new federal school choice scholarship program created by Congress. Beginning in 2027, the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit will allow taxpayers to receive a credit of up to $1,700 for donations to scholarship-granting organizations, which can then help families pay for tutoring, tuition, homeschool materials, educational therapies and special-needs services without taking a dollar from public school budgets.
Politically, Hochul’s decision should have been a no-brainer. The state Education Department’s own Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures recognized that New York parents are demanding more “options,” “flexibility” and “pathways” in education.
But there’s much more that could be done to expand opportunities for New York students.
First, New York can lift the cap on public charter schools. Charter schools are public schools that operate with more flexibility than traditional district schools. In New York City, charter schools consistently outperform their district counterparts. In 2024, charter students scored about nine percentage points higher in English and nearly 13 points higher in math. These schools serve a student population that is overwhelmingly Black and Latino, yet New York’s charter cap continues to limit access for these families. Charter advocates report that in New York City, more than 160,000 students are on charter-school waitlists.
Second, expand open enrollment among public schools. New York parents who try to access better public schools with open seats nearby can face the threat of criminal prosecution. New York should follow other states — including solidly blue states like Colorado and Delaware — that have embraced stronger open-enrollment rules, promoting fairer access to public schools by allowing students to cross district lines when space is available.
Third, require access to accelerated programs. Too often, advanced students are left bored and unchallenged in classrooms that do not match their abilities. New York should follow Illinois’ lead and pass a statewide Accelerated Placement Act that requires districts to provide opportunities for early entrance, single-subject acceleration and whole-grade acceleration based on readiness, not just age.
Fourth, modernize outdated regulations that inhibit microschools. In New York, affluent families can privately hire tutors to handle all of their child’s home instruction. But if working-class families try to pool resources to share tutors, state guidance restricts them from using group instruction for a majority of their children’s learning time before they are deemed a private school — and thus subject to a daunting labyrinth of regulations. This two-tiered system is obviously unfair, reserving small, focused educational environments with professional teaching for the wealthy.
I’m not badmouthing New York’s public schools generally. We have some great ones. And I’m quite fond of the one I send my kids to. But despite spending more per pupil than any other state in 2024, only 37% of New York fourth-graders were proficient in math, and only 31% were proficient in reading.
This should have sounded the alarm for state policymakers to explore every possible reform. Instead, we got a milquetoast plan to “transform” education by offering students an alternative path to graduating high school — most notably by eliminating the requirement that students pass the Regents exams.
I get that the Regents might not make sense for every kid. But it is insulting to call that a transformative reform.
Contrast that with states like Texas, which recently implemented a sweeping education savings account program, offering families funds they can use for private school tuition, instructional materials, tutoring, homeschooling expenses, support services for students with disabilities and other alternatives.
No single education model can serve every child. Some kids thrive in traditional public schools, some in charter or private schools. Some need acceleration. Some need a smaller learning environment. Some need tutoring, therapy or specialized support their assigned school cannot provide. The more options available to families, the better.
Gov. Hochul deserves credit for taking a step in the right direction. State officials should keep going. If they don’t, they risk leaving a generation of kids behind.
This op-ed was originally published in Time Union on June, 9, 2026.
