Forty-five Catholic schools. Eighteen Montessori schools. Thirteen Jewish day schools. Dozens of YMCAs and Boys and Girls Clubs. On May 13, 2026, all of them appeared on the same membership list.
The Massachusetts Educational Opportunities Coalition launched that day with 124 member organizations and one request: that Gov. Maura Healey enroll Massachusetts in the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) before the program begins on January 1, 2027.
Here is the answer to the question most Massachusetts readers are asking. Massachusetts is not currently a participating state, and no coalition, nonprofit or school can change that. Under the law, a state joins only when its governor files an advance election with the Internal Revenue Service. Until that filing happens, there is no Massachusetts program to plan around.
What the Coalition Is Actually Asking For
Start with the thing being requested, because it is smaller than most people expect. It is a filing, not a budget item.
The EFTC, created in the tax law signed on July 4, 2025, works in two steps that must stay in that order. First, a taxpayer makes a charitable contribution to a nonprofit that awards K-12 scholarships, formally called a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). Later, at filing time, an eligible taxpayer may claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700.
The credit is not a deduction. A deduction lowers the income your taxes are calculated on. A credit reduces the federal income tax you owe, dollar for dollar. We walk through that distinction in tax credit vs. deduction.
The state’s role is narrow but decisive. A governor files the advance election with the IRS and designates which scholarship organizations qualify. Without that step, contributions cannot flow to in-state organizations and families in the state cannot receive these scholarships.
Why 124 Organizations Chose to Organize Together
The coalition’s membership tells you something about its strategy. Faith-based schools, secular schools and community groups signed on side by side, spearheaded by the National Parents Union and backed by the Pioneer Institute, the Lynch Foundation and the Boston Foundation, according to reporting by the Bay State Banner.
A YMCA and a Jewish day school do not usually appear in the same advocacy campaign. That breadth appears to be the point.
The coalition has also put a number on the table. Former Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, now president of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, estimated the credit could generate roughly $660 million a year in Massachusetts.
That figure deserves a careful reading. It is an advocacy estimate, not a finding from the Treasury Department, the IRS or a state fiscal office. By mid-June 2026, the coalition’s own website described a larger membership, more than 6,000 organizations, while framing its projected impact around a different number, roughly $333 million a year at a 15% participation rate. Two estimates that far apart signal how much depends on assumptions nobody can verify yet.
Why the Governor Has Not Decided
Healey, a Democrat, has not committed either way. Her administration has said it is waiting on guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Education before deciding.
That posture is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing. Several mechanical questions in the statute, including how states designate qualifying organizations and how those organizations verify household income, are expected to be addressed in Treasury regulations. As of publication, final regulations have not been published.
A governor who files before the rules are settled accepts some uncertainty about administration. A governor who waits accepts a different risk, which is running out of calendar before January 2027.
Both are real. Neither is obviously wrong, and readers can weigh them.
Be the First to Know
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The Regional Context That Makes This Awkward
Massachusetts is not deciding in isolation. Its neighbor to the west has already leaned the other direction.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled she would opt in, making her one of several Democratic governors who have chosen participation. By mid-2026, the IRS advance-election roster counted 27 states (citation needed).
Here is why geography matters. The credit is federal, so a taxpayer in one state may support scholarship organizations serving children in another. Contributions do not stop at state lines, and neither do the scholarships. We explain that in can I donate to an SGO in another state.
The practical result for a non-participating state is straightforward. Its residents can still be eligible donors, but there are no designated in-state organizations for them to support, and its own students are not served by those gifts.
What This Means If You Live in Massachusetts
For families, the honest answer is that there is nothing to apply for right now. No Massachusetts organizations have been designated, so no Massachusetts scholarships exist under this program.
For donors, the timing is separate from the politics. The credit does not become available until January 1, 2027, in any state. Nobody is behind schedule yet.
For anyone thinking about starting a scholarship organization, the work is front-loaded. If Massachusetts does elect in, the state would need organizations prepared to accept contributions, verify family eligibility and award scholarships before the launch date.
And for readers outside Massachusetts, this story is a template. The same question is live in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and elsewhere, and it turns on the same single act: whether a governor files.
Where AFC Fits In
AFC does not decide state participation, designate qualifying organizations or set Treasury policy. What we can do is explain the process accurately as it develops, including how states opt in.
We are preparing to serve donors and families in participating states when the program begins.
What to Watch Next
Three things will tell you where this is heading.
First, whether Treasury publishes final regulations, and what they say about how states designate scholarship organizations. Second, whether the Massachusetts coalition’s growth changes the political math. Third, and most simply, whether an advance election appears on the IRS roster with Massachusetts next to it.
Everything else is commentary. That filing is the fact.
If you want to understand this program before it begins, start with how the Education Freedom Tax Credit works, and sign up for updates to follow where your state stands.
Not as of publication. Massachusetts has not filed an advance election with the IRS, which is the step that makes a state a participant. The governor's office has said it is evaluating the decision while awaiting federal guidance.
The credit does not become available to anyone until January 1, 2027. After that, eligibility depends on the statute and on final Treasury rules, which are still pending. Because the credit is federal, donors are generally not limited to organizations in their own state, but a non-participating state has no designated in-state organizations to receive contributions.
The governor. Under the statute, a state participates when its governor files an advance election with the IRS and designates qualifying Scholarship Granting Organizations. In some states, legislatures have passed opt-in bills, but the federal filing is the operative step.
Eligible taxpayers may claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 (Treasury rules pending). It is not a refund and not a redirection of taxes already owed. The contribution to a qualified scholarship organization comes first; the credit is claimed later, at filing.
The coalition argues participation costs the state nothing because scholarship funds come from private contributions rather than the state budget. That is an advocacy position, not an independently verified fiscal finding, and states are still assessing administrative costs.
