Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has decided not to complete her state's enrollment in the new federal scholarship tax-credit program for 2027, the Washington Post reported on the evening of Friday, November 13 — a decision that, if it holds, takes Virginia out of the program's first year even though her predecessor had made Virginia the very first state to opt in.

Source: The Washington Post, via EFTC Credit tracker, Nov 13, 2026

A spokesperson for the governor told the Post that, in the administration's words, “The Spanberger Administration, at this point, does not believe this program would benefit students in public schools.” Her office had posted no statement on its own newsroom as of early Saturday, November 14.

The program, created under Section 25F of the federal tax code, offers donors a dollar-for-dollar federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions to approved scholarship-granting organizations, known as SGOs. Those organizations turn the donations into scholarships for students. The program takes effect on January 1, 2027, and the law and Treasury's regulations describe scholarships as available to students in public and nonpublic schools alike — a point the governor's critics were quick to raise.

How Virginia got here

Virginia's place on the federal list dates to the final days of the previous administration. Outgoing Governor Glenn Youngkin filed an advance election in January, days before leaving office, making Virginia the first state in the country to opt in. His January 9 letter named eight scholarship organizations. Spanberger, who took office in mid-January, inherited the filing — and, it turned out, only half of the process.

Under Treasury's temporary regulations, which apply from September 1, 2026, an advance election is only a first step. The state “must perfect its election by providing its State SGO list,” and for 2027 that list can be filed between October 1, 2026 and February 15, 2027. The regulation is blunt about the consequence: if the list never arrives, no organization in that state qualifies as an SGO for that year. According to the Post, which reviewed the documents, a recent letter from the IRS reminded Virginia that it still had to complete the process.

That unfinished paperwork is what made Virginia's decision possible at all. Because the election belongs to the sitting governor, Spanberger could effectively opt the state out simply by not filing — no vote, no bill and no announcement required, though the decision was always likely to surface.

The pressure campaign around the governor

Both sides had been lobbying for months. On October 2, the Virginia Education Association, the state's teachers union, urged Spanberger not to file the list. “Governor Spanberger can keep Virginia from taking on this additional risk,” VEA president Carol Bauer wrote. “We urge her not to complete enrollment in the federal voucher program.” Supporters of the program, including the Virginia Education Opportunity Alliance, spent the same weeks pressing the administration to publish the list and tell families which organizations would take part. Spanberger's own campaign education plan had pledged to reject efforts that erode faith in public schools, a line her supporters read as a promise to stay out.

Source: EFTC Credit, Virginia 2027 SGO-list reporting, updated Nov 14, 2026

Where other states stand

Virginia would be the first state whose election is already on file with the IRS to walk away from it; other governors who declined, including Oregon's Tina Kotek, Minnesota's Tim Walz and Wisconsin's Tony Evers, said no before filing anything. The movement has not all been one way: New York Governor Kathy Hochul decided to join on October 9, though New York's election has not yet appeared on the IRS page, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham opted in on November 4 after saying no in August 2025. Trackers now count 31 participating states — the IRS list, minus Virginia, plus New York.

What it means for Virginia families

If no list is filed, no Virginia organization can hand out Section 25F scholarships in 2027, so the money cannot reach Virginia students through the program in its first year. Virginians could still claim the federal credit by donating to scholarship organizations in participating states — but those scholarships would go to students in those states. Virginia's own, separate Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit is not touched by the decision. And the choice is not permanent: each year is a separate election, so 2028 is a fresh decision for the same governor, whose term runs into January 2030.