Political Action

Update on the Federal Voucher Tax Credit Fight

On Jan. 1, 2027, the Trump administration's school voucher tax credit program goes live. It's the first national school voucher program in U.S. history, and the largest effort ever to reroute public tax dollars to private schools — all dressed up as charitable giving. Governors decide whether their states participate, and Gov. Hochul has signaled she intends to opt New York in.

Here's how it works: Donors get a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit, up to $1,700 a year, for giving to "scholarship-granting organizations" (SGOs). These are private groups that hand out vouchers, most of which are expected to flow to private and religious schools. Unlike public schools, which educate 90% of our students and welcome every child, private schools answer to no one and can reject any student who doesn't fit their business model.

This program is another transfer of wealth from working people to the wealthy. It's a tax shelter, paid for by the rest of us.

The evidence from other states should end the debate:

Arizona: Costs exploded from a projected $65 million to $864 million, helping to blow a $1.4 billion hole in the state budget.

Arkansas: 95% of voucher recipients were already in private school.

Florida: An audit of the statewide voucher program found that the state couldn't account for $270 million in funds and may have made overpayments for roughly 30,000 students.

While Governor Hochul has publicly indicated that she will opt NY into the Trump admin’s federal voucher program, NYSUT has made it clear from the beginning that NY should reject this voucher scheme. To that end, we are building a broad coalition of education, labor, civil rights, and community organizations, with more than 60 partners have signed on: https://publicschoolsuniteus.org/our-initiatives/voucher-program/our-coalition

NYSUT has also coordinated a congressional sign-on letter endorsed by 15 members of the NY delegation, partnered with civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, and worked with educator unions across the country to build a national coalition opposing participation in the program. Politico reported on this coalition.

NYSUT and the Illinois Federation of Teachers released a letter signed by more than 30 state educator union leaders from states with Democratic governors, urging those governors to reject participation.

An article about this coalition letter ran in Politico on June 11th, and The Times Union published an op-ed by the NY chapter of the NAACP opposing the federal program and noting the segregationist origins of school vouchers.

For more information about the federal voucher program, check here:

https://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/voucher-programs/federal-voucher-scheme

Governor Hochul needs to hear from you next...

TAKE ACTION: Sign our petition calling on Governor Hochul to opt New York OUT of this federal voucher scam!

It took us 30 years to fully fund Foundation Aid. It would take one governor to start undoing it.

Fix Tier 6 Rally March 8, 2026

Thousands of unionists, public service workers, and allies got our “Fix Tier 6!” message out loud and clear in the largest show of unified labor NY has seen in years! There were 15,000 of us fighting for the 780,000 public workers enrolled in Tier 6.

A huge thank you to our 9 BUP members + Co-Presidents Andrew Jordan and Marne Brady who rallied for our 300+ BUP members enrolled in Tier 6:

Megan Paz - Teacher at Creekside & BUP delegate
Rachael Ziegler - Associate Teacher at Creekside & BUP delegate
Rick Loucks – Associate Teacher at Creekside & BUP delegate
Stephen Fremouw – Associate Teacher at Creekside
Mary Utter - Speech therapist at Bird
Tracey Povio - Teacher at Bird & BUP delegate
Laurieann Petrotta – Associate Teacher at Bird/Morgan
Erika Henderickson - Audiologist
Violet Wallerstein - Science teacher at EMCC

Our rally drew attention far and wide. Television, print and radio coverage amplified our message statewide. Governor Kathy Hochul, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Attorney General Letitia James all said we need to fix Tier 6; a clear sign that our voices are being heard at the highest levels of government. Now they just need to include the fix in the budget!

Tier 6 NYS Budget Win

NYSUT President Melinda Person has released a statement in response to reforms to Tier 6 in this year’s state budget. For her full statement see here: nysut.org/news/2026/may/media-release-budget-statement

Below is an important snippet of the pension reforms we won in this year’s budget...

For Tier 6 members in NYSTRS - a group that includes mostly teachers and teaching assistants - the retirement age will be reduced by five years, from 63 to 58, for members with 30 years of service (without penalties).

For Tier 6 members in NYSERS - a group that includes many school-related professionals, support staff and other workers - contribution rates will be reduced across most salary bands. New Contribution Bands:
• $75k or less: 3%
• $75k - $100k: 4%
• $100k - $125k: 5.25%
• $125k or more: 5.75%

Tier 5 TRS members' retirement age is currently 57, and Tier 5 ERS members have fixed contribution rates at 3%.

We had success because of the large number of members who fought for these reforms, but the fight continues! NYSUT led this fight and will continue to advocate for full fixes to Tier 5 along with future improvements for our Tier 6 members.

2026 NY Legislative Session: Wins for NYSUT

Read all about it here: 2026 New York Legislative Session: Wins for NYSUT Members