Virginia's 2027 participation now comes down to one filing, and the state teachers union has asked Spanberger not to make it

Virginia was the first state to opt into §25F, through an advance election Gov. Glenn Youngkin filed days before leaving office in January. Until October 1, the common reading was that Gov. Abigail Spanberger had inherited Virginia's 2027 participation and would decide only about later years. Treasury's temporary regulations change that. An advance election, they say, must be perfected: the state "must perfect its election by providing its State SGO list" (§ 1.25F-5T(c)(3)(ii)). For 2027 the window runs from October 1, 2026 through February 15, 2027. A state that never sends the list has no qualifying organizations for 2027.

The union's ask. The Virginia Education Association read the rules the same way and acted on them the next day. "Governor Spanberger can keep Virginia from taking on this additional risk," VEA president Carol Bauer said in an October 2 statement. "We urge her not to complete enrollment in the federal voucher program." The union attached a cost scenario: if 4% of public school operating support were lost, that would be about $940 million a year statewide, built from Virginia Department of Education spending data for fiscal 2025 and Arizona's experience with its education savings account program. That is the union's own illustration, not a state projection; VEA presents it as a sense of scale, not a ceiling. §25F scholarships are paid from private donations, not the state budget; the union's argument is about enrollment shifting away from public schools over time.

What Spanberger has said. Little, so far. Her campaign education plan pledged to "reject efforts to divert funding from public education to pay for voucher programs," and she has never reversed Youngkin's election. As of October 5 her administration had not announced whether Virginia will file its list. She is the only sitting governor whose state is on the IRS list through a predecessor's election, which makes Virginia the clearest test of whether a state that opted in can still sit out the first year.

What filing would involve. Youngkin's January 9 letter named eight scholarship organizations, but under the new rules the list goes to the IRS through a State §25F portal that has not opened yet, and it must include every qualifying organization located in Virginia that asks to be on it; a state may not add requirements tougher than the federal law. Once the list is filed, Treasury reads the statute to allow no revocation for that year. Each year is a separate election, so 2028 would be a new decision either way.

If Virginia does not file. Virginians can still claim the credit by giving to scholarship organizations in other participating states; those scholarships would go to students in those states. Virginia's own state program, the Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit, is separate and unaffected. Our June explainer on how Virginia could leave covers the stalled legislative route, HB 359, which is due back in the 2027 session. Organizations planning to serve Virginia students should prepare as if the list will be filed (the SGO Builder covers the federal steps) and follow the Virginia page for the decision.