“Pennsylvania House Democrats voted to limit education choice, restrict scholarship access for low-income families, and close doors for students across our Commonwealth. Lawmakers should stand with Pennsylvania families: reject these cuts, expand scholarship opportunities, and opt the Commonwealth into the federal scholarship tax credit.“ – U.S. Senator Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania)
Across the country, support for educational choice continues to grow. Unfortunately, here in Pennsylvania, parents, students, and educators are confronting legislation led by PA House Democrats that would move the Commonwealth in the opposite direction.
“For 25 years, Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs have helped families find the educational setting that best meets their child’s needs. They are among the most successful educational initiatives this Commonwealth has ever created. In fact, our EITC program has been so successful that the federal government recently modeled its new Education Freedom Tax Credit after Pennsylvania’s approach…
House Bill 2632 moves us in the opposite direction. This bill eliminates the existing EITC and OSTC programs and replaces them with a new framework that makes it harder for families to qualify for a scholarship and more difficult for scholarship organizations to receive donations.” – PA State Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia)
House Bill 2632, introduced by Rep. Nikki Rivera (D-Lancaster), would dismantle the successful Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs and replace it with a weaker, more restrictive program that would reduce educational opportunities for thousands of students actively seeking scholarships.
Not only would EITC and OSTC be dismantled, but House Bill 2632 as introduced cut $102 million in scholarship funding, which would have eliminated 30,000 student scholarships.
On June 16th, every Democrat member of the PA House Education Committee voted yes to these scholarship cuts by passing House Bill 2632. Rep. Rivera was “thrilled” to bring it to a vote, yet she made no mention in committee of rewriting and replacing the EITC and OSTC programs during her remarks on the bill. And not only did she fail to acknowledge the significant cuts to student scholarships, but she continued to claim there were no funding cuts in the bill.
Other members spoke out, including Rep. Joe D’Orsie (R-York): “This bill would cut scholarships by $102 million and take away scholarship opportunities from 30,000 students.”
Before it went to the PA floor for final passage, lawmakers amended HB2632 to remove the direct scholarship funding cuts. Yet the rest of the problems remained, chief of which was a dismantling of the EITC and OSTC program and replacing it with a weaker, more restrictive program.
Ironically, PA State Rep. Joe Hohenstein (D-Philadelphia) publicly acknowledged the original version of House Bill 2632 “really wasn’t any good.” Yet the change to remove the direct scholarship cuts left the rest of the problems in the bill.
On June 22, every PA House Democrat, joined by three Republicans, Reps Joe Hogan (R-Bucks), Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin), and KC Tomlinson (R-Bucks), voted in favor of dismantling EITC by voting yes on House Bill 2632.
The bill now awaits consideration by the PA Senate Education Committee.
What PA House Democrats are saying
Here’s a glimpse into the mindset of the PA House Democrats to even propose a change to the successful EITC and OSTC programs:
- “I won’t use the vocabulary of school choice.” – PA House Majority Leader Matthew Bradford (D-Montgomery), making this claim ahead of the vote on HB2632. Endorsed by the teacher’s union, Rep. Bradford is also a main culprit for Gov. Shapiro’s veto of his campaign promise for Lifeline scholarships.
- “I want EITC to go away.” – PA State Rep. Tarah Probst (D-Monroe), during a recent legislative hearing on EITC, shared her disgust for PA’s student scholarship program. “The whole push for school choice…I want EITC to go away and go away for good.”
- EITC is “a subsidy for people who can afford the tuition.” – PA State Rep. Jason Dawkins (D-Philadelphia), in a claim made “for the people watching back home” in why he voted yes on HB2632. (Despite evidence to the contrary.)
As the legislative process unfolded with House Bill 2632, most PA House Democrats have failed to acknowledge many of the failures in today’s public school system and why we’re moving to restrict school opportunities in the first place.
Q: Is HB2632 all about accountability?
While PA House Democrats have framed House Bill 2632 as an accountability measure, the bill goes far beyond additional reporting requirements. Pennsylvania’s scholarship tax credit programs are already implementing new reporting requirements that take effect this fall. Yet HB2632 would add even more regulations, including requiring the Auditor General to regularly audit every scholarship organization and every participating private school; oversight that is not required for public schools in the same way.
Beyond those new requirements, HB2632 would replace the existing EITC and OSTC programs with a new, more restrictive framework that would make scholarships less accessible for families, create additional burdens for scholarship organizations and participating schools, and impose a new tax on scholarship organizations.
At a time when tens of thousands of students are already being denied these scholarships because program funding is capped, Pennsylvania should be looking for ways to expand educational opportunity, not make it harder to access. House Bill 2632 moves in the opposite direction.
What others are saying
- “I implore my colleagues to take a look at what this program has done for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The only thing that we need to do is add more money to it. We do not need to take a step backwards in terms of school choice in Pennsylvania.” – PA House Minority Leader Jesse Topper
- “The EITC program is arguable the most successful education we have and that we’ve had for many years.” – PA State Rep. Mark Anderson (R-York)
- Demand for these scholarships is at an all-time high, with students submitting more than 160,000 applications annually, historically leaving tens of thousands on waitlists due to capped program limits.” – PA State Senator Joe Picozzi (R-Philadelphia)
- “The recent passage of House Bill 2632 by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives poses a serious threat to school children and families throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” – Archbishop of Philadelphia Nelson J. Perez
- “One of the central arguments being made in support of this bill is that EITC primarily benefits wealthy families, but I am living proof that this is false. My husband is a United States Army veteran, and I work for a nonprofit organization. We are not wealthy. We are a family that has stretched, sacrificed, and made hard choices because we believe investing in our children’s education matters. Those sacrifices, along with EITC, have proven fruitful.” – Barbara Roque, Association of Christian Schools International
- “If Democrats get their way, where are black and brown students supposed to go? Philadelphia is already closing seventeen public schools, disproportionately hurting students of color. Given this reality, state leaders should be expanding the EITC program and charter school funding, while creating new pathways for low-income families to escape struggling schools. Instead, politicians in Harrisburg — especially Majority Leader Matt Bradford and the main bill sponsor Rep. Nikki Rivera — are trying to put more black and brown students into underperforming schools. In effect, they want to put students out on the streets.” – Rev. Joshua Robertson, Black Pastors United for Education
Moving Forward
Although House Bill 2632 passed the PA House, the debate over educational opportunities continues.
The same week the PA House voted to weaken and restrict school opportunities, the PA Senate voted to pass separate legislation (HB1667) that would increase EITC funding by $25 million.
“The highly successful EITC program, which provides scholarships to help families send children to schools that best meet student needs, would receive an additional $25 million under the legislation, bringing the total to $705 million. EITC scholarships remain a Senate Republican priority for empowering Pennsylvania parents.” – PA Senate Republicans
Two Action Items
- Protect EITC: Student Scholarship at Risk
- Opt-In: Call on Gov. Shapiro to opt-in to the federal tax credit program
