We’ve reached crunch time on PA budget talks here in Harrisburg and one thing you can remind your elected officials about is making sure they help more families find the best education option for their children.
Two statewide programs, the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC), have provided over 500,000 scholarships to families seeking financial assistance for their children’s private or charter school education. PA Family Institute’s Family Choice Scholarship Program, part of the EITC and OSTC programs, has provided 4,000 of these scholarships to families across Pennsylvania.
An audit found that the EITC program has saved taxpayers over $1.3 billion. In the 2014-2015 school year, Pennsylvania spent an average of $15,800 per student while the average EITC scholarship was just $1,684. That year, 50,000 families were helped with a tax credit to attend the school of their choice.
These programs work. That’s why we support HB250, which would expand the EITC by $50 million and the OSTC by $25 million, a combined 43% increase ((This $75 million increase is compared to the nearly $6 billion proposed funding for basic education). PA State Representatives passed HB250 with 73% bipartisan vote. It is currently being discussed in budget negotiations.
TAKE ACTION:
Tell your elected officials to support the expansion of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs by voting YES on a state budget that includes an increase to these programs.
To identify your elected officials and for their phone number, use our Citizen Action Center (scroll to the bottom and enter your zip code). Also, for a list of PA State Senators, click here and for a list of PA State Representatives, click here.
To learn more about our Family Choice Scholarship Program, go to myfamilychoice.org.
