While North Carolina faces a pending veto override vote on its own measure to embrace the federal government’s new school-choice tax credit scholarship program, Georgia has already stepped forward, becoming the latest state to opt in.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, announced the move during a press conference Jan. 20.
“Now that we have a like-minded partner in the White House with President Trump, I’m grateful that the positive impacts of the Georgia GOAL Scholarship will not only be enhanced by this federal tax credit, but also replicated across the country,” Kemp said, referencing the state’s own tax-credit scholarship program.
The federal tax-credit program was authorized under the Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted by Congress in July. The program would be associated with contributions made by individuals to designated Scholarship Granting Organizations (SSOs), which in turn issue stipends to students for private school expenses, including tuition and other allowable costs.
A key feature is that donors receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction in their income taxes, effectively making the donation cost-free. Taxpayers could donate up to $1,700 per year.
The program, set to begin in 2027, allows families earning up to three times the median income for their area to qualify for scholarships. While the legislation provides significant funding — estimated to cost nearly $26 billion through 2034 — its implementation largely depends on whether individual states and their governors opt into the program.
North Carolina, meanwhile, remains sidelined. A bill designed to opt the Tar Heel State into the program fell prey to the veto pen of Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, in August. The fate of that bill now rests on a potential veto override.
Lawmakers have yet to schedule a vote, but successfully overturning the veto would require a three-fifths majority in both chambers of the General Assembly. Such a vote could occur as early as Feb. 9, when the legislature reconvenes in Raleigh.
Dr. Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation, underscored the implications for North Carolina.
“I hope Gov. Stein is watching what’s going on nationally,” Luebke said. “States are opting in to the federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program because it’s a win-win situation.”
He warned that Stein’s veto means “students in North Carolina — whether they attend public or private schools — will not be able to benefit from the new federal tax credit. The credit was written to allow all eligible students, no matter where they attend school, to benefit. The governor’s veto merely ensures that all the money donated by generous North Carolinians to help students will go to benefit students in other states.”
An analysis from Education Week shows that a total of 18 states have opted in or said they will opt in, four have opted out, and the remaining states have yet to decide.