Education Labor Leaders Launch Nationwide Call for Governors to Opt-Out of Voucher Scheme (June 11, 2026)
AFT Massachusetts urges state to take official stand against Project 2025’s privatization of education
AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang joined 32 other union leaders to urge Democratic governors across the nation to reject the Trump administration's proposed federal private school voucher tax credit program and publicly reaffirm their commitment to public education.
Last month, the AFT Massachusetts and over 20 local education union leaders called on Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey to publicly and unequivocally opt-out of the Trump Administration’s federal school voucher program set to take effect in 2027.
The plan, a hallmark of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, is the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to dismantle public education by draining public funding from public schools to subsidize the education of children attending private schools.
“Siphoning off funding from our neediest students in order to cover vouchers to private and religious schools goes against the very objectives of the federal government’s role in education and is the antithesis of the values we purport to uphold here in the Commonwealth. Particularly as the birthplace of public education, it is incumbent upon Massachusetts to hold the line and protect public education from privatization and further inequities,” said AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang. “Shifting public dollars to private schools that are allowed to select what criteria they base admissions on, including income, religion, sex, test scores, and more, is publicly-funded discrimination. It’s not only against the values we hold as a Commonwealth, it flies in the face of the Massachusetts Constitution.”
Whether they’re called scholarship programs, vouchers, or savings accounts, these programs have been part of the campaign against public education for decades, originating in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education as a way for states to avoid integration efforts. Ample evidence has shown that not only do these programs take money from public schools, they harm student achievement, accelerate segregation, and are an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.
In states that currently have programs like this, outside analysis has shown time and again that wealthier families are much more likely to benefit from this shift of public money into private schools. Not only is public money subsidizing the education of some of the wealthiest students, most of it is going to students who have no record of ever attending a public school.
As outlined in the AFT Massachusetts letter to Governor Healey, by opting in, Massachusetts would play an active role in the Heritage Foundation’s efforts to fully implement Project 2025, which argues for eliminating two critical funding sources through the US Department of Education (US ED) and funding voucher programs in their place.
Those two programs, Title I Grants to local school districts and IDEA Special Education State Grants, have helped ensure millions of low-income and special needs students receive the public education they deserve. In the last fiscal year, the federal government spent $33.4 billion on these two programs combined. The voucher scheme is estimated to cost $51 billion annually.
Earlier this month, the AFT Massachusetts urged all members of the Massachusetts House and Senate as well as the state’s entire federal delegation to urge Governor Healey to opt-out.
Today, Democratic Governors across the nation received the letter from education labor leaders warning that participation in the program would legitimize a federally subsidized tax shelter designed to accelerate privatization of public schools. The 33 unions, including the AFT Massachusetts, represent millions of teachers, school staff, and public school employees in 23 states across the country.