Republicans in Congress achieved a historic breakthrough last month — and Democratic governors should jump at the chance to take advantage of it.

It’s the first-ever nationwide school choice program, included as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The program aims to give every child in America a shot at a better future by funding private- and parochial-school scholarships through a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit.

But each state’s governor has to choose to join it — and nowhere is the need more urgent than in New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul has a golden opportunity to make good on her own words.

In 2022, in her gubernatorial debate with GOP nominee Lee Zeldin, Hochul said she supported lifting New York’s charter school cap.

But in the years since, she’s let the leftist state Legislature handcuff charter expansion, leaving too many poor kids stuck in a one-size-fits-all government school monopoly that’s failing them spectacularly.

Empire State families are demanding more choices to escape from failing district schools.

Tens of thousands of kids are on charter-school waitlists in New York City — and 78% of New York parents support Education Savings Accounts like the school choice initiative passed by Congress.

New York spent about $37,000 per student in 2023 — 66% higher than the state’s average private-school tuition — yet only 13% of NYC’s black 8th graders are proficient in math.

Statewide, inflation-adjusted per-student spending has skyrocketed 209% since 1970. Have outcomes gotten 209% better?

Of course not: Test scores have stagnated or declined, proving that throwing more money at the problem without competition is a fool’s errand.

But now Hochul can’t blame the Democrat-controlled state Legislature as an excuse to keep poor kids from accessing better schools, whether charter, private or religious.

The new federal school-choice program puts the decision squarely in her hands, and in the hands of her fellow governors.

Other states’ Democratic leaders are showing signs of cracking under the pressure of common sense.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s team has said he’s considering opting in to the federal program.

Even more encouraging is North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, who vetoed a bill passed by the state’s GOP-controlled legislature demanding he sign on to the program — calling the bill “unnecessary,” since he “intend[s] to opt North Carolina in.”

Stein’s veto message explicitly stated that “school choice is good for students and parents,” and pledged to allow North Carolina’s public-school students access to the funding.

Stein’s stance could encourage other Democratic governors to jump on the bandwagon.

Speaking of which, California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom should opt in, too.

He sent his own kids to private school, and attended one himself in his early years. It’s hypocritical to oppose school choice for other families while enjoying it for your own.

What makes the new federal program so compelling — even for Democratic governors beholden to teachers’ unions — is a built-in incentive that’s impossible to ignore.

If states don’t opt in, their constituents — whether they know it or not — will be subsidizing scholarships for families in the red states that are already rushing to sign on.

All American families and taxpaying individuals can donate to K-12 scholarship-granting organizations and receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit in exchange, even if their state doesn’t join up.

All the governors can decide is whether kids in their state can access those scholarships.

Opting out means shooting your state in the foot: Your taxpayers’ donations will flow to other states’ kids, leaving your own students behind.

The ongoing crisis in our schools amplifies the urgency.

Last week a new FBI report revealed 1.3 million crimes committed at schools from 2020 to 2024, including about 540,000 physical assaults.

The statistics prove what parents already know: Too many kids are getting beaten, bullied and traumatized in environments that should be safe havens for learning.

Democratic governors can no longer do the bidding of teachers’ unions by locking children in failing schools infested with violence. The unions’ iron grip has protected mediocrity and danger for too long.

School choice breaks that stranglehold, giving parents the power to vote with their feet and demand better.

Trump’s bill puts children first and champions freedom, opportunity and accountability in education.

It’s time for Hochul and her peers to free our kids from the public school monopoly by helping families find better education opportunities.

If she doesn’t, she risks cementing a legacy of statewide failure and decline.

Corey DeAngelis is a senior fellow at the American Culture Project and a visiting fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research.