Another school choice bill introduced Monday
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
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HARRISBURG — A Chester County Republican wants to simplify the complex debate over school choice by giving every child a voucher, a proposal that differs from two other bills on the issue.
State Rep. Curt Schroder introduced legislation Monday that allows every child — including home-schoolers — to be eligible for a $5,000 voucher for tuition at a private or parochial school. The bill would not determine the value of the voucher based on the student’s district and would not restrict voucher eligibility based on income, which differentiates it from similar proposals unveiled this year.
“A school failing in its mission is failing all kids, not just those from low-income families,” Schroder said. “We have a better approach, because the bills I am offering will accomplish more.”
The cost of the bill has not been determined, because the legislation has not been formally introduced, Schroder said. He also declined to estimate the number of children who might take advantage of the voucher system.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, or PSEA, the state’s largest teachers’ union, opposes “any legislation that takes public money directly from public schools — particularly struggling schools and the students they serve — to provide a voucher to private and parochial schools,” according to a memo sent to lawmakers this past week.
The bill does not require additional state taxpayer funds, because the state portion of a school district’s per-student spending would be redirected, Schroder said. He said the bill would be “revenue neutral.” At $5,000 per voucher, the bill would redirect $5 million, if 1,000 students used the voucher, for example.
The bill also would allow home-schoolers to use the EITC to offset educational expenses. Schroder’s bill is the first of the school choice bills to contain such a provision.
Schroder’s proposal follows on the heels of three other school choice proposals in the General Assembly.
The much-discussed SB 1, which would create a four-tiered voucher system starting with low-income children in 144 "failing" schools and expanding to include all families who make up to 300 percent of the federal poverty line, is still awaiting a final vote in the state Senate.
The state Department of Education uses student performance as measured by standardized testing scores to determine if a school is failing.
In that bill, the amount of the voucher depends on how much state money is given to a district. Since poorer districts receive a larger share of state funding, students in those districts would receive larger vouchers. Conversely, students in wealthier districts would receive smaller vouchers.
Another school choice bill, HB 1330, has passed the state House and is awaiting action in the state Senate. That bill would expand the state’s existing Educational Improvement Tax Credit, or EITC, program, which is funded through corporate contributions instead of tax dollars, from $60 million to $100 million next year and $200 million in subsequent years.
This past week, state Rep. Jim Christiana, R-Beaver, introduced a compromise bill containing aspects of both bills.
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, signed on as a leading sponsor of the Christiana bill. Turzai’s decision indicates that school choice is a priority in the final weeks before the budget.
State Rep. Paul Clymer, R-Bucks, chairman of the House Education Committee, said the proposals were on the table for now, and the timeline was expected to move quickly.
“The next 36 to 48 hours will be very, very critical” for the voucher bills, Clymer said Monday.
State Rep. Tom Quigley, R-Montgomery, who introduced the expanded EITC bill earlier this year, said that with several proposals pending, many state House members are re-evaluating their stance on the issue.
“Realistically, the Christiana proposal has the best chance of passing, if anything is going to happen,” Quigley said, who added that he would support that legislation.
Tea party groups in Pennsylvania are divided over the school choice bills, though they agree that students and their families should have more options.
“No guessing as to which students are covered and which ones are not. This is pure school choice,” said Teri Adams, president of the Independence Hall Tea Party, a Philadelphia-based organization which favors the broader Schroder bill.
But other groups still are pressing for the Senate bill or a version of it to pass.
“We have to start somewhere, so if we start with the worst-performing schools, that’s a step,” said Anastasia Przybylski, a member of the Kitchen Table Patriots, a Bucks County tea party group that favors the Senate bill.
Schroder also introduced a second bill that would give the $5,000 vouchers only to students attending one of the 144 schools on the state Department of Education’s list of “failing schools.” He said he anticipates only one of the two bills moving forward, but he would prefer the universal voucher measure.
Correction: This story originally reported that Schroder's bill would allow home schoolers access to vouchers. It will allow home schoolers to use the EITC, but not the proposed vouchers.
