New York teachers unions rally against Gov. Hochul's school-choice tax credit plan

Governor Kathy Hochul intends to opt New York into a federal tax-credit scholarship initiative, making the state the 30th to participate. Teachers unions—including the UFT, NYSUT and the AFT—have scheduled a protest at the UFT’s Manhattan headquarters, warning that the plan would channel public money to private schools. The governor’s office says the program could benefit students and that the funding would not draw from state education budgets.

Teach Coalition leader Sydney Altfield argues that critics are mischaracterizing the policy, emphasizing that it is a tax credit rather than a traditional voucher and that public-school budgets would remain untouched. Union organizers maintain that the mechanism still results in public dollars supporting private institutions and have launched a petition urging the administration to reject the proposal.