This has been a banner year for school choice across much of the U.S., and Michigan is the latest state to advance the cause. The GOP-led Legislature last week passed choice legislation that will force Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to choose between students and teachers unions.

Bills passed by the state House and Senate create tax-credit scholarships of as much as roughly $7,800 per student. The funds could be used for private-school tuition, tutoring expenses, transportation and more.

Students...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., Sept. 15.

Photo: Jake May/Associated Press

This has been a banner year for school choice across much of the U.S., and Michigan is the latest state to advance the cause. The GOP-led Legislature last week passed choice legislation that will force Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to choose between students and teachers unions.

Bills passed by the state House and Senate create tax-credit scholarships of as much as roughly $7,800 per student. The funds could be used for private-school tuition, tutoring expenses, transportation and more.

Students with disabilities, in foster care, or in families making no more than 200% of the income cap for reduced-price lunches—nearly $100,000 for a family of four—would be eligible. Individuals or businesses that donate to the scholarship funds would receive a tax credit equal to their donation. The legislation allows up to $500 million in credits in the first year. No Democrat voted for the legislation.

The partisan opposition is a shame. A poll sponsored by the American Federation for Children in June reported that 74% of voters support school choice, including 70% of Democrats. The pro-school-choice Mackinac Center last year found 49% of likely Michigan voters—55% of parents—in favor of tax-credit scholarships. Only 34% were opposed.

The bills meet growing demand fueled by parental frustration with public schools that has increased during the pandemic. At least 60% of Michigan public-school students started last school year hybrid or remote. In math and reading, Michigan K-8 students “appeared not to make normal progress towards learning goals,” reports Michigan State’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative.

Families have flocked to charters and private schools or teaching at home. In Michigan the share of households with school-age children that are home-schooling jumped to 11% from 5% from spring to fall of 2020, according to the Census Bureau. A report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools found a 1.45% increase in the state’s charter enrollment from 2019-20 to 2020-21—and a nearly 5% decrease for traditional district schools, a loss of some 64,000 students.

The state already has nearly 300 charter schools and allows some students to attend out-of-district public schools. But a Blaine Amendment in the state constitution has barred the state from offering vouchers or education savings accounts for private K-12 schools. Five families are challenging this provision in a lawsuit. The scholarships differ from vouchers because public funds don’t go directly to students, and unions will sue to block them. But giving students more choice is still worth the legislative effort.

Standing in the schoolhouse door is Ms. Whitmer, whose spokesman told the Detroit Free Press the legislation is a “nonstarter.” Cost isn’t an issue, as the state is swimming in $6 billion in pandemic K-12 funds from Congress. Ms. Whitmer takes orders from the unions, and this year she’s already vetoed $1,000 voucher-like stipends for elementary students who struggle with reading.

The Governor is fundraising for her likely re-election campaign next year, and her hostility to even modest choice for students and parents creates an opening for GOP candidates.

Journal Editorial Report: Justice is way over the line with school parents. Image: Tom Brenner-Pool/Getty Images The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition