Center for Christian Virtue launches private school scholarship program under Education Freedom Tax Cut
The Center for Christian Virtue, an Ohio Christian public policy group, has launched a private school scholarship program that will provide education funds to students in multiple states.
Donors to the scholarship program will be eligible for tax credits under a program created by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
“This is a defining moment for Christian education in America,” Aaron Baer, Founder of CEN and President of CCV, said in a release. “For the first time, families can take money they already owe to the federal government and redirect it into scholarships that fund a Christ-centered education.”
The Christian Education Network, a coalition of 200 Evangelical and Catholic schools in Ohio, founded by CCV, launched an SGO that will allow donors to contribute to scholarships and receive a tax credit, according to a second press release.
While CEN currently provides scholarships to families in Ohio, the SGO will provide scholarships to students attending Christian schools nationwide in states that have opted into the tax cut.
“Families are searching for both excellence and biblical values in education, so this program creates a critical pathway forward,” Troy McIntosh, Executive Director of CEN, said in a release. “It gives parents and grandparents a choice they may not have thought possible, and provides Christ-centered schools with new financial resources. And we want every school administrator to have an advocate and a guide in this process. That’s what CEN is here for.”
The Educational Choice for Children Act, passed as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act in 2025, created the Education Freedom Tax Credit, which will take effect in January 2027.
The tax credit allows donors to receive a credit of up to $1,700 on their Federal income taxes for contributions made to SGOs.
An SGO is defined as a charity that uses at least 90 percent of its income on scholarships for education choice options for eligible students in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Funds from SGOs can be used to provide scholarships to students who are eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school and are from households with incomes less than 300% of the area’s median gross income.
Qualifying students in Ohio became eligible to receive SGO scholarships after Republican Gov. Mike DeWine opted into the tax credit in February, according to a report from NBC 4.
Other states that have opted into the tax credit include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana. Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming have also opted in.
Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said last week that the state would opt into the tax credit.
Cleveland.com recently reported that opponents of the federal SGOs say the program is too expensive and could result in cuts to public school funding.
The Treasury Department released a fact sheet that estimated that the federal SGOs created by the tax credit program could generate an additional $7.5 billion in education funding annually.
Ohio previously adopted a state scholarship donation tax credit through the passage of House Bill 110 in 2021. The state allows donors to SGOs to receive up to $750 in state income tax credits.
Ohio also provides private school vouchers through the Educational Choice Scholarship Program.
Oral Arguments in a lawsuit involving the program were heard by the Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals on Tuesday. As Ohio.News previously reported, Attorney General Dave Yost filed an appeal after Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page ruled that the voucher program was unconstitutional in 2025.
