Families in Montgomery, Blue Ash and Sycamore Township will be eligible for a new federal scholarship program starting Jan. 1, 2027, after Ohio opted into the first nationwide school choice initiative.
The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, works through donations rather than direct grants. Taxpayers who contribute to an approved Scholarship Granting Organization, or SGO, receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 per individual or $3,400 for married couples filing jointly, according to proposed regulations the U.S. Treasury Department released Thursday, Oct. 1.
Those SGOs then award scholarships to eligible students. Recipients can spend the money on private or religious school tuition, homeschooling costs, tutoring, special education therapies, books and computers, the Treasury Department said.
Who qualifies
Children in grades K-12 whose families earn up to three times the area median income are eligible. The U.S. Department of Education estimates about 96% of children in participating states would qualify, WLWT reported.
Students do not have to leave public school. Public school families could use scholarship funds for tutoring or special education services, though the administration had not finalized specific criteria for eligible expenses as of Oct. 1.
Families on government assistance programs can use proof of that participation instead of income documentation. Foster children are not required to provide any income verification.
Ohio context
Ohio already runs the EdChoice Scholarship, which provides up to $6,166 for grades K-8 and $8,408 for grades 9-12, according to the Ohio Department of Education. The new federal program adds another layer of school choice funding.
The Sycamore Board of Education has pushed back against voucher expansion. The board's April 28 meeting agenda included an action item titled "Resolution Opposing the Use of Public Education Funds for Private School Education Vouchers," according to board records. The board is also asking voters to approve a combined 6.95-mill property tax levy on the Nov. 3 ballot, consisting of 5.00 mills for operating expenses and 1.95 mills for permanent improvements, according to the district's FAQ page.
Robert Enlow, president and CEO of EdChoice, a school choice advocacy organization, said in a statement that the federal tax credit "has the potential to be a significant new funding source for students learning at the elementary and secondary levels who need help accessing additional educational resources …"
What's still unclear
No Ohio-based SGO has been publicly confirmed as certified and ready to accept donations when the program launches. States have until Feb. 15, 2027, to submit their lists of qualified SGOs to the IRS.
Homeschool families should watch for a potential complication. The Treasury Department's rules require students to be enrolled in a "school" as their state defines it. EdChoice noted that some states do not legally classify homeschools or microschools as schools, which could limit eligibility. Whether Ohio's definition covers homeschools for this purpose has not been confirmed.
The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed regulations, putting the deadline at Nov. 30. The program is set to launch Jan. 1, 2027.
