WASHINGTON — A federal school voucher program has long eluded conservatives, even as advocates for school choice have scored victories in more than a dozen red states over the past two years.

Now, a sweeping proposal by House Republicans to allocate $5 billion a year to provide a tax break for families who choose to send their children to private and religious schools has been incorporated into the GOP-led budget reconciliation measure.

The proposal is “the most consequential educational (measure) in our lifetime,’’ said Rep. Burgess Owens, a Utah Republican who has long championed school choice efforts.

Owens and other supporters say it would provide students with more choices and access to other educational opportunities, not just the public school they are assigned to.

“This is about ensuring (there is) a school opportunity for kids no matter what ZIP code you’re from,” New York Rep. Elise Stefanik said Wednesday at a news conference outside the Capitol with Owens and other Republican lawmakers.

Critics, however, say the proposal — driven by GOP megadonors such as Jeff Yass — represents an unprecedented use of public funds for private education that would undercut public schools, particularly in low-income and rural areas, while providing a significant tax break for the wealthy.

“Vouchers are a self-serving, billionaire-backed scam that hurts kids,’’ Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said on social media Wednesday.

During the House Ways and Means markup of the massive tax portion of the budget reconciliation package, Alabama Democratic Rep. Terri A. Sewell pointed out that the proposal did not include a provision to require private schools that accept vouchers to hire state-certified teachers or offer special education services, as public schools are mandated to provide.

The school voucher proposal outlined in the budget measure largely mirrors earlier legislation put forth by Republicans in the House and Senate, although an earlier bill would have provided up to $10 billion in tax credits.

“It’s tax policy, and I think fits well within the purview of reconciliation,” Nebraska Rep. Adrian Smith, the lead sponsor of the initial bill and a member of the Ways and Means panel, told reporters at the news conference. “There’s a Senate companion being done as well.”

School choice is a key part of President Donald Trump’s education agenda but the idea long predates Trump, said Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University who has studied school vouchers. Conservatives “have been trying to get the feds involved in this for years and years and years,’’ he said.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump endorsed school choice, saying it would allow “parents (to) send their children to the public, private, or religious school that best suits their needs, their goals and their values.”

Since his return to the White House in January, the president has moved swiftly to enact his educational agenda, directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling her department — another long-sought conservative goal — and signing a slew of education-related executive orders.

School choice backers praised House GOP leaders for weaving the federal voucher proposal into the budget reconciliation legislation, while acknowledging that the measure could change as it goes through the legislative process.

“Many changes are likely to occur as lawmakers debate key elements that need improvement, and we are eager to continue working with them to ensure that robust school choice makes it to President Trump’s desk,” said Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, an advocacy group that promotes school voucher programs. “Ultimately, every child, especially from lower-income families, should have access to the school of their choice, and this legislation is the only way to make that happen.”

Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who introduced the Senate version of the school choice bill in January, also hailed the measure’s incorporation into the tax and spending package.

“I am pleased to see it included in the big, beautiful bill,” the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said in a statement. “Expanding President Trump’s tax cuts is about preserving the American Dream. Giving parents the ability to choose the best education for their child makes the dream possible.”

But Michigan State’s Cowen said the inclusion of the voucher proposal in the reconciliation measure is a testament to the difficulty Republicans have had in gaining support for the proposal as a stand-alone bill. Rural voters, in particular, have viewed similar measures with skepticism because they don’t generally have access to private schools, he said.

“People don’t like this stuff,’’ Cowen said, noting that school choice ballot initiatives in Kentucky and Nebraska — two states that Trump won easily — both lost in 2024. “Voters, whether they’re Republican or Democrat, look at this stuff, and they’re like, what does this really do for me?”

If the measure passes both chambers — it would only require 51 votes in the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats — and is signed into law, it could lead to a national voucher program that would bring it to blue states, some of which have already rejected the idea.

“California is a good example,’’ Owens said. “Imagine parents that are frustrated and are left out of the process. They can finally say, ‘I want a choice.’ This is a remarkable gift to our country.”

Stefanik, who reaffirmed Wednesday that she is “strongly considering” a run for New York governor next year, suggested that education issues would play a major role in a potential campaign. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul could be vulnerable in the deep-blue state as she seeks a second full term.

“Education will be one of the issues that’s front and center as we are seeing New York spend more per pupil than any other state in the country, and yet you’re seeing a skyrocket in absenteeism, failed schools,’’ Stefanik said. “We can and must do better for kids in New York.”

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