Former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Launches New Education Policy Group

2026-08-06

The BareStory

Former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday launched a new conservative policy organization, Empowering America's Parents, focused on education and school choice. The initiative marks Youngkin's first major public move since leaving office in January.

The group plans to run a multimillion-dollar campaign to promote the Education Freedom Tax Credit, a national school voucher program created under a 2025 federal tax reform bill. Scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, the program allows taxpayers to donate up to $1,700 to scholarship-granting organizations in participating states in exchange for a federal income tax credit. Proponents say the program will help fund private K–12 education tuition.

Youngkin stated that every governor should opt into the program, claiming that those who decline will leave their state's children behind. However, several Democratic governors in key swing states have chosen not to participate. According to a source familiar with the group's planning, the promotional campaign will target voters in the 20 states that have not adopted the tax credit, including key battlegrounds such as Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

The launch occurs amid speculation surrounding the 2028 Republican presidential field. While Youngkin has expressed support for Vice President JD Vance in a potential run, he has not ruled out seeking office himself in the future. The new organization is expected to give Youngkin a national platform to travel, raise funds, and elevate his political profile.

Left Perspective

Starving the Public Commons
Evading Public Oversight
Leveraging Divisive Platforms

Right Perspective

Restoring Family Sovereignty
Cultivating Educational Competition
Mobilizing the Decentralized Coalition

Left Perspective

• Starving the Public Commons Public education is the foundational engine of social progress and democratic equality, requiring robust, collective investment to serve all children equitably. Diverting public revenues through the Education Freedom Tax Credit—which allows taxpayers to redirect up to $1,700 to private scholarship-granting organizations—weakens the public school system that serves the vast majority of children, particularly vulnerable and marginalized students. By incentivizing the exit of wealthier families and resources, this policy exacerbates educational inequality and undermines the state's obligation to provide uniform, high-quality public instruction. This mechanism ultimately prioritizes private enrichment over the collective public good.

• Evading Public Oversight True civic accountability requires that public funds be bound to transparent, publicly governed institutions. Funding private K-12 education tuition through tax credits bypasses school boards and state-mandated standards, allowing private entities to operate without the civil rights protections and public auditing that govern public districts. Democratic governors in swing states like Michigan and Arizona are exercising necessary executive stewardship by declining to participate, shielding their citizens from unregulated, parallel educational systems. This resistance prevents the erosion of government accountability and protects public oversight of educational standards.

• Leveraging Divisive Platforms The launch of "Empowering America's Parents" is less about pedagogical excellence and more about building a national springboard for personal political ambition. Utilizing a multimillion-dollar campaign in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin serves to weaponize education as a culture-war wedge issue to raise Youngkin's profile ahead of the 2028 presidential race. This strategy exploits local communities, turning domestic policy into a fund-raising machine and a stepping stone for executive power rather than a genuine effort to improve student outcomes. It risks prioritizing personal brand-building over the stable, non-partisan governance of school systems.

Right Perspective

• Restoring Family Sovereignty The primary authority over a child’s moral and intellectual development belongs to the family, not the state. The Education Freedom Tax Credit, which Youngkin's "Empowering America's Parents" group promotes, empowers parents by providing the financial agency of up to $1,700 in tax credits to select the educational environment that best aligns with their family's values. By breaking the state-run monopoly on K-12 education, this system restores the traditional social order where parents, rather than centralized bureaucracies, dictate the terms of their children's upbringing. This shift reinforces local autonomy and strengthens the family unit as the foundational institution of society.

• Cultivating Educational Competition Institutional continuity and high standards are best maintained through competition and choice rather than guaranteed government funding. Allowing taxpayers to direct funds to scholarship-granting organizations forces public schools to compete for students, driving overall academic performance and institutional efficiency. States that choose to opt out of the program, as several Democratic governors have done, risk stagnation by locking students into underperforming systems and denying them the opportunity for upward mobility through private alternatives. This market-based approach ensures that resources are allocated based on value delivered to families.

• Mobilizing the Decentralized Coalition Youngkin's advocacy group serves as a vital vehicle for organizing grassroots conservative power and coordinating policy across state lines. Initiating a multimillion-dollar campaign targeting the 20 non-participating states, including key battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, builds a cohesive national coalition focused on federalism and local control. Whether Youngkin uses this platform to support potential candidates like JD Vance or to bolster his own 2028 prospects, the initiative successfully solidifies a durable policy movement that challenges federal educational overreach. This strategic alignment ensures that conservative principles remain a dominant force in the national political dialogue.

How it may affect me

As a U.S. reader:

• Taxpayers in participating states will have the option to receive a federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 for donating to private school scholarship organizations starting January 1, 2027.

• Parents and K-12 students will see differing educational options depending on their state of residence, with some states offering funded private school vouchers and others opting out to focus resources on public school systems.

• Voters and residents in the 20 states that have not adopted the tax credit, particularly in swing states such as Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, will be targeted by a multimillion-dollar advocacy campaign.

• In the long term, families may see shifts in the quality and funding of local public schools, which could either face reduced resources as families transition to private education or face pressure to improve performance due to increased competition.

Former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Launches New Education Policy Group

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Left Perspective

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How it may affect me

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