Individuals can now qualify for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $1,700 when they donate to scholarship organizations. The organizations, in turn, award scholarships to students, both public and private, who can use the funds for education-related expenses, such as tuition, tutoring, supplies, and after-school programs.

This tax credit was inspired by similar programs in my home state. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit awarded more than 101,000 scholarships to low- and middle-income households in need of educational alternatives. Combined, these programs have provided more than a million scholarships in the past 25 years. This Pennsylvania success story gives me a lot of hope for the new federal tax credit.

There’s one catch, though: Governors must opt their states into the program, which is precisely why the unions are targeting them.

But attentive readers of Weingarten and Pringle’s histrionics should take note: Nearly every claim they make is false.

The tax credit program isn’t a voucher, and it doesn’t involve any public funds. The program relies on private donations and requires neither state appropriation nor reallocation of existing funds. It doesn’t take anything away from public schools. In fact, scholarship donations will benefit students in public schools as well as those in private schools.

Ironically, opting out will cost the states. Education Reform Now estimates — albeit conservatively — that nonparticipating states will forfeit millions, if not hundreds of millions, of dollars in aid. The America First Policy Institute offers a grimmer estimate: The opt-out states will collectively forego nearly $23 billion in donations over three years.

Why would anybody leave that much money on the table for our kids’ education?

The unions warn that the scholarship program will “shrink” public school enrollment. But enrollment has already been steadily declining for years, driven primarily by lower birth rates and fewer kids to enroll each year.

Assuredly, school choice also played a part. The COVID-19 pandemic spurred a huge exodus of disenfranchised families who were fed up with their neighborhood schools’ abysmal performance. While district schools shrank, enrollment in private, charter, homeschooling, and microschools ballooned.

But this presents an awkward question for the teachers unions to answer: Why do families, when given a choice, increasingly choose to attend non-district schools? Some self-awareness may help these unions figure out why so many families are voting with their feet.

Meanwhile, union-funded politicians continue to drag their heels. Many governors, including Josh Shapiro (D-PA), Josh Stein (D-NC), and Katie Hobbs (D-AZ), have claimed they are “waiting for federal guidance” before opting in.

But this wait-and-see excuse is bogus, too. Both the U.S. Treasury and the Education Department have released guidance that details scholarship requirements, income eligibility, donation tracking, and other key details. Moreover, the program provides states with considerable latitude to create their own guardrails if they see fit.

This excuse has nothing to do with caution and everything to do with organizations that finance their electoral ambitions.

Thankfully, not all governors have bought into these distortions. So far, 31 states, some led by Democrats, have already indicated their intent to participate. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) was among the first to do so, calling it a “no-brainer.” Also, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who erroneously hemmed and hawed about “poison pills,” turned heads when she signaled her intent to opt in.

The 29 governors who haven’t opted in, including mine, should know that their constituents have their backs. Nearly two-thirds of Americans support opting in, according to a poll conducted by Emerson College and Democrats for Education Reform.

UNIONS’ SNEAKY ATTACK ON WISCONSIN VOUCHERS JUST BLEW UP IN THEIR FACES

Perhaps the unions are right to be scared. Anything that introduces competition into the educational landscape threatens their monopoly. When you read between the lines of Weingartner and Pringle’s letter, you can almost hear the death rattle.

But in the end, this isn’t about the unions. This is about kids who deserve a high-quality education regardless of their household income or zip code. And anybody who gets between them and their parents would be wise to choose their words more carefully.

Andrew Lewis is president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.