In Miami Gardens, McMahon says new federal school choice tax credit won't drain Florida public schools

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon came to Miami Gardens on Tuesday, Oct. 13, to promote the Education Freedom Tax Credit, the first federal school choice tax credit, and said it would not take money from public schools, even in a county where public school enrollment has dropped sharply. The credit, created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, and Florida is one of the states that has already signed up to take part.

McMahon spoke at Lubavitch Educational Center, a private Jewish day school in Miami Gardens, according to WLRN, which reported that it was her second visit to the school. She first went there about two weeks after taking office in 2025.

"This is added money into the pot of education, not taking away from anything," McMahon said, according to WLRN. "And they're private dollars that are coming into this, which I just think is incredible."

How the federal credit works

The credit lets taxpayers donate to scholarship-granting organizations, nonprofits that pass the money to eligible families in the form of scholarships. Donors get a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for those gifts.

The U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS issued proposed regulations on Oct. 1. Under those rules, individuals can claim a nonrefundable credit of up to $1,700 a year for qualified cash contributions, and married couples filing jointly can claim up to $3,400 combined. Unused credits can be carried forward for up to five years, according to Treasury.

Treasury said scholarships can pay for a range of K-12 expenses, including private school tuition, academic tutoring, special-needs services, books, supplies, computers and other equipment. The proposed rules also say that a scholarship-granting organization generally must be a 501(c)(3) public charity, must keep donated money separate, and must appear on a participating state's list. States may not impose operating requirements stricter than the federal law, such as limits based on the type of school a student attends.

The money only reaches students in states that opt in. Treasury and the IRS estimated that about 96 percent of children in participating states would be eligible, and projected that by 2030 the program could draw nearly $26 billion a year in contributions from more than 11 million taxpayers and fund up to 2.2 million scholarships a year. Those are federal projections, not guarantees.

Florida signed up in January

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Jan. 28 that Florida would opt in to the federal credit, according to a release from the governor's office. The release said Florida taxpayers could receive a credit of up to $1,700 a year starting Jan. 1, 2027, for contributions to the program, which helps K-12 students with educational expenses. The governor's office did not describe a separate legislative vote on the decision.

"The new federal school choice program will allow Florida families to supplement their existing scholarships," DeSantis said in that release.

WLRN reported that Florida is among 31 states that have indicated they would participate. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put the number of states that had opted in at 30 when the proposed rules came out on Oct. 1, and urged all 50 to join. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, announced on Friday, Oct. 9, that her state would sign on, according to reports. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, also a Democrat, lobbied for the credit, WLRN reported.

Why the pitch landed in Miami-Dade

McMahon's visit came as Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida's largest district, deals with a steep drop in students. WLRN reported in August that the district counted 300,509 registered K-12 students on the first day of school, Aug. 13, compared with 319,419 students last spring according to the Florida Department of Education, a decline of 18,910.

District officials told WLRN at the time that the first-day figure was a point-in-time snapshot and not a final enrollment count. The state uses surveys taken during the school year, including one in October, to allocate money to districts, so fewer students would mean less state funding. WLRN also reported that the district had registered far fewer foreign-born students than in past years, which it tied to changes in federal immigration enforcement.

Asked whether the federal credit would ease that pressure, McMahon said it was unclear, according to WLRN. She also said there is no national estimate of how the money would split between private and public school students.

Florida's existing voucher system

The federal credit arrives in a state that already runs the country's largest school choice program. DeSantis signed a law in 2023 opening education vouchers to all Florida children regardless of family income or where they attend school. WLRN reported that the vouchers average about $8,000 and that some 500,000 students have accepted them for private schooling and home education.

Most of that scholarship money flows through Step Up for Students and is funded entirely by the state, according to WLRN. WLRN reported that the rapid expansion has left more than $400 million unused as organizations struggle to handle demand. The federal credit would add a separate stream of privately donated money on top of the state scholarships, which is how the governor's office framed it in January.

Danny Aqua of the private school advocacy group Teach Florida told WLRN the credit would let families choose what is best for their children. Scott Singer, the Boca Raton mayor and a Republican candidate for Congress in the 25th District, called the credit a "universal benefit" at the event, WLRN reported.

Critics question who benefits

Republican lawmakers have said scholarships from the credit can go to students in public, private or charter schools. Congressional Democrats, teachers unions and civil rights groups have questioned how much public schools will actually gain, according to WLRN.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement that the measure would leave public school parents "hunting for stray pennies on the floor" while money goes to private schools, WLRN reported. Congressional Democrats, led by senators from Arizona and Hawaii and House members from Wisconsin and Oregon, have filed bills to repeal the credit, according to WLRN. The effort began before the Treasury rules were released.

Some Democratic governors who opted in have said they want public school students to use the money for tutoring and after-school programs. In New York, teachers union leaders criticized Hochul's decision, according to reports on her announcement.

What it means for Florida taxpayers and families

For Florida donors, the practical effect begins with the 2027 tax year. A single filer who gives $1,700 to an eligible scholarship-granting organization could reduce a federal tax bill by $1,700, and a married couple filing jointly could reduce it by up to $3,400, under the proposed rules. Because the rules allow donations to organizations in any participating state, Floridians would not be limited to groups based in Florida.

For families, the federal scholarships would come on top of what the state already provides. That could matter most for expenses that state vouchers do not fully cover, such as tutoring or special-needs services, though the size of individual awards will depend on how much money donors give and how organizations distribute it.

For school districts like Miami-Dade, the open question is whether the credit pulls more students away from traditional public schools or brings in new money for tutoring and services for students who stay. Neither McMahon nor Treasury offered a Florida-specific estimate.

What's next

The Treasury and IRS rules are proposed, not final, and could change before the program launches on Jan. 1, 2027. States that opted in must also submit lists of qualifying scholarship-granting organizations, and the IRS will publish a list that donors can rely on.