Would create voucher program for state’s low-income students
By: Eric Boehm | PA Independent
Controversial school voucher legislation could clear the state Senate by the end of next week, according to Republican senators.
The bill, S.B. 1, would create a voucher program for the state’s poorest students who currently attend failing schools. Over the course of three years, the voucher program would expand to provide school choice to all low-income students regardless of school district.
It would also add $25 million to the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, which provides scholarships to low income students who attend private schools. EITC is capped at $75 million annually.
Several Senate Republicans confirmed plans to have a final vote on the bill before the end of next week. The bill has to clear the Senate Appropriations Committee before a final vote, but the committee will address the bill on Monday or Tuesday, said state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, the committee chair.
State Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, said he hopes to have a final vote on the school choice bill before the end of the week.
Erik Arneson, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Chester, said several options for next week’s schedule were being considered, but the bill could receive a final vote as early as Tuesday.
The bill would allow parents of eligible children to redirect the per-student state-level funding to a school of their choice. Local property taxes would continue to be paid to the local school district and overall state spending on education would not increase.
Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, has embraced the proposal and in his budget address in Marxch called for the General Assembly to pass the bill.
House Republican leaders did not return requests for comment Friday, and the leadership has yet to take a position on the legislation.
Both chambers of the Legislature are controlled by Republicans.
Corman said the committee will consider an amendment to expand the eligibility for the voucher program.
The Appropriations Committee will address the school district mandate relief package passed by the Senate Education Committee earlier this week, most likely as part of the overall budget discussions, according to Corman. He gave no specific timeline for the package, but said it would “follow on pretty quickly” after the school choice bill and will have to be finished before school districts begin planning for next school year.
The package of mandate reforms is seen as a partner to the school choice bill and includes a number of changes to state mandates applied to school districts, such as reducing the number of mandatory state reports school districts must file, higher thresholds for no-bid contracts and looser requirements for hiring school nurses and other personnel.
The package also contains a bill to require a two-thirds vote by school boards before raising property taxes.
