* The Washington Post…

The Trump administration took a major step Thursday toward launching the nation’s first federally funded school voucher program, set to steer billions of tax dollars to private schools — but also, perhaps, to public school students.

The Treasury Department released long-awaited rules that will govern the first-of-its-kind effort before it’s implemented in January. States must decide whether to participate, and many Democratic governors had said they would wait for the regulations before making a decision. […]

The voucher-like program, called the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, was created by last year’s giant Republican tax and spending bill. It provides a 100 percent tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs), which will pass along the money to families. It was designed to primarily benefit students attending private schools, but SGOs may also be set up to help pay out-of-pocket expenses for public school students, further complicating the politics for Democrats.

Governors have until Jan. 1 to opt in. Thirty mostly Republican-led states have already joined. Most of the remaining states that have not rejected the plan are led by Democrats.

In January, Gov. JB Pritzker blamed the lack of federal rules for not acting on the tax credit. I’ve asked his office for comment and will update when I hear back.

* Education Week…

During a call with reporters Wednesday afternoon, Treasury and Education department officials previewed the regulations and offered some answers to outstanding questions on the program’s operations.

States, for example, won’t be allowed to block certain types of scholarship-granting organizations, or SGOs, from accepting tax credit-eligible donations, or dictate to whom SGOs direct funds. Some Democratic policymakers have sought to allow only SGOs that give out scholarships to public school students or students from low-income families, as well as impose antidiscrimination and academic accountability requirements on SGOs and the schools and organizations that accept scholarship money.

Children from low-income families who already participate in public benefit programs or school-based tutoring programs will be automatically eligible to receive scholarships. And annual independent audits of SGOs will be required.

The regulations—which are open for public comment today through the end of November—also pave the way for scholarship-granting organizations to operate in multiple states, according to a news release announcing the regulations. […]

[Officials] also emphasized that public school students can benefit—echoing a call from advocates in recent months for K-12 districts to pay attention to the program and position themselves to take advantage of potential new funding.

…Adding… From the Governor’s office…

“The Governor’s Office is currently reviewing the newly released guidance from the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about the structure and requirements of the Federal Scholarship Program Tax Credit. As stated since the federal government announced this program, the Governor’s Office will carefully evaluate the proposed regulations and make a decision grounded in what best supports working families, students, and our public schools.”