Will he opt Vermont in to Big Beautiful Bill’s tax credit/scholarship program?

by Rob Roper

Phil Scott has always campaigned as a proponent of school choice, though it has never been high on his priority list as an issue. But this past year his proposal for a massive restructuring of k-12 education leaves school choice advocates, such as your humble writer here, scratching our heads.

Scott’s initial proposal effectively eliminated Vermont’s 150-year-old school choice tuitioning system, which benefits some ninety towns across the state in districts that do not operate a public school, by consolidating districts to the point where every district would operate at least one public school. No more choice. This is not something a genuine school choice advocate would do.

However, Scott’s plan did create a statewide lottery program that would, in some cases, based on the luck of the draw and subject to certain conditions, allow students to attend someplace other than their zip-code assigned public school. To the proposal’s credit, the teachers’ unions hated it. Major plus. And it applied statewide; not just 90 towns. Also good. But access to a government-run lottery system is not what I’d call parental school choice, and it certainly represents a step back from what we have now.

Moreover, the key to any choice program is, well, choices. And the choices in question here are the number and diversity of independent schools parents and students can choose from. And, sadly, Scott was quick to throw Vermont’s independent schools under a big yellow bus, initially calling for an end to tuitioning for elementary and middle schools entirely, and placing further restrictions on what high schools could participate in his lottery program. The final bill, Act 73, passed in June of 2025, while possibly better than Scott’s original proposal, bars roughly half of all the independent schools in Vermont that currently accept tuitioning students from doing so in the future. (A final list has not yet been published.)

So, color me confused about where the governor really stands on school choice. But there is a path to clarity. Or at to a place less blurry. And this is the school choice provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill.

What the OBBB does is allow for individual taxpayers to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit off their federal return of up to $1700 for donations made to a 501c3 Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). The money raised can be used for scholarships to independent schools (or, presumably, out of district public schools), homeschooling expenses, tutoring, school supplies, transportation, etcetera.

For Vermont independent schools suddenly cut off from town tuitioning dollars by Act 73 – and, more importantly for their students – the scholarship money generated by this program could be a true life preserver. The big question: will Phil Scott throw them a line, or let these schools and students he helped push over the side just drown? Because the OBBB requires each individual state to proactively opt into the tax credit/scholarship program, and the person charged with doing the opting is the governor. Our campaign promising, pro-school choice governor.

So, Governor Scott, please announce your intention to participate in this program ASAP so Vermonters can begin to take advantage of it immediately when it goes into effect on January 1, 2027. The sooner you declare us “in”, the more time we have to establish one or more SGO’s to collect and distribute the money when the time comes.

There are no reasons not to do this. Yes, the Left, the VTNEA and their allies will cry it takes money away from public schools. No, it doesn’t. This is money donated voluntarily by individuals and will not impact the Vermont Education Fund by one dime. In fact, what it does is allow every taxpayer the choice to direct an extra $1700 more toward educating Vermont’s children. It will (assuming people take advantage of the tax credit) increase total spending in our state on education, expand options for families and children, and reward schools that do a good job.

Who but a greedy, controlling sociopath who despises individual agency could oppose this? So, again governor, please get Vermont on board with this program. “Back to School” is the perfect time and backdrop for an announcement. It’s your call. We’re waiting and watching.

If you feel inclined to contact the governor about this issue, he can be reached at:

Pavilion Building, 109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609

Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years’ service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank.