The following commentary originally appeared in Hearst Connecticut Media.

By Steven Velardo

My four-year-old son’s biggest concern is whether the tyrannosaurus or velociraptor is the cooler dinosaur. My one-year-old daughter is mostly focused on staying upright and stealing her brother’s toys. As their father, I know those childhood concerns will not last forever. One day they will be replaced with decisions about careers, homes and families of their own.

I spend a lot of time wondering what our state will look like when they are 14 and 11, or 24 and 21. Will families be able to find the help their children need? Will students who fall behind have a real chance to catch up? Will young people want to stay here, build careers and raise families of their own?

Those are big questions. Every once in a while, though, a big question comes with a surprisingly simple choice.

Beginning in 2027, the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit will allow eligible taxpayers to redirect up to $1,700 of their federal taxes toward students.

Tax language can make the credit sound more complicated than it is. Most of us already pay federal income taxes through every paycheck and settle up with the IRS at the end of the year. This program gives qualifying taxpayers another option: donate up to $1,700 to an approved nonprofit Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), and for each dollar you give, receive a dollar in federal income tax credit.

Put simply, the credit gives us a choice: would you rather see that $1,700 go to the IRS general fund or toward educational opportunities for students?

That choice is not theoretical to me. As a father and as president of Foundations in Education, I see every day what happens when people choose to put resources directly behind a child. Over the last decade, at Foundations in Education our donors have invested more than $29 million in educational opportunities for children across Fairfield County through scholarships and academic support.

When most people hear “scholarship,” they naturally think about private-school tuition. So it would be natural to assume, this credit will only benefit students are private schools, not the majority in our public schools. While tuition can be part of this program, but its potential is much broader.

The federal law allows support for students in both public and nonpublic schools. “Scholarship” funds can help cover tutoring, special-needs services, test preparation, books, supplies, equipment, technology and other qualified K-12 educational expenses.

Picture a fourth grader who has fallen behind in reading. A student with special needs whose family needs more support. A high-school student who needs tutoring or test preparation. A family trying to keep a child enrolled in a school where that child is thriving.

Different schools. Different circumstances. The same basic issue: a student needs help.

Traditional philanthropy can provide that help, but it has limits. Most people care deeply about education. Very few people can write a six- or seven-figure check. The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit changes that equation. You do not need your name on a building or need to think of yourself as a philanthropist. You can be a parent, grandparent, teacher, young professional or small-business owner who looks at the choice and says: if I can put $1,700 behind a student here in Connecticut, why wouldn’t I?

The numbers get interesting quickly. Democrats for Education Reform estimates that Connecticut has roughly 640,000 taxpayers with enough federal tax liability to use the full $1,700 credit. At just 1% participation, that could mean nearly $11 million in educational support. At 15%, more than $163 million. At 30%, about $326 million.

Given the choice between Washington and Connecticut’s kids, most people I know will choose our kids.

But Connecticut residents cannot make that choice unless Governor Ned Lamont first opts our state into the program. The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit is already federal law and takes effect January 1, 2027. Thirty states have already opted in, including Colorado, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she supports the tax credit. Connecticut should join them.

This is an opportunity to bring new educational resources into our state and put them behind students who need help. But opting in is only the first step. If Governor Lamont says yes, the responsibility shifts to us. Will we choose to put our own tax dollars behind the future we say we want for Connecticut students?

Opting in by itself does not create one scholarship, provide one tutoring session or buy one book, computer or piece of equipment. It creates the opportunity. What happens after that depends on whether Connecticut residents choose to act. That may be the most compelling part of this program. It gives hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents the opportunity to become direct investors in the education of our children. One person making a $1,700 choice may not transform Connecticut. Thousands of people making that same choice can.

No new Connecticut tax. No new state appropriation. Just Connecticut residents choosing to redirect dollars they would otherwise pay the federal government and instead put them behind Connecticut students.

My son is learning his letters and numbers. My daughter is learning to walk. Neither has any idea what Connecticut will look like a decade from now. Neither do I. But we have a say in what it becomes. I want Connecticut to be a place where a child who needs tutoring can get it. Where a student with special needs can find additional support. Where families have options. Where public, private and charter schools can all help students succeed.

Governor Lamont has the first choice. He should opt Connecticut into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit and give Connecticut residents the opportunity to participate.

Then the choice becomes ours. The question will no longer be whether Connecticut can participate. It will be what we choose to do with our $1,700.

Steven Velardo is president of Foundations in Education, a Fairfield County nonprofit that provides scholarships and academic support to K-12 students. FoundationsInEducation.org