A spokesman for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement Thursday that his office is “awaiting federal guidance on key issues” regarding the federal Tax Credit Scholarship program. (Photo: Kriston Jae Bethel for Votebeat)
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat — a non-profit news website devoted to changes in education in public schools.
School choice advocates and two Philadelphia lawmakers are calling on Gov. Josh Shapiro to opt into a federal tax credit scholarship program that would cover private school tuition and other education expenses.
But Shapiro is delaying his decision until President Donald Trump’s administration publishes regulations defining the extent of states’ control and responsibility over the federal program.
Shapiro and other Democratic governors’ strategy of postponing a yes-or-no decision on tax cuts reflects wave of political pressure they stand face to face.
Tax credit supporters say governors who reject the program are simply losing funds that will go to other states instead of helping their students. But passing a Trump administration-backed measure that promotes private school choice could clash with the ideological preferences of Democratic officials and many of their voters.
Pennsylvania already approves two tax credit scholarship programs: the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit and the Education Improvement Tax Credit. Both provide tax breaks to companies that donate to organizations that provide students with scholarships at private schools.
But the federal program does not rely on state funding. A new federal tax credit that was passed last summer as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill would reimburse taxpayers for donations of up to $1,700 a year to organizations that award scholarships.
Through the program, donations assist pay for more than just private school tuition. Supporters say these scholarship funds can be used for tutoring, after-school programs, educational technology and other educational expenses for both private and public school students.
But there are still many unanswered questions.
The U.S. Treasury is developing rules to determine the amount of authority states will have over the program. These rules could be spelled out what benefits public school students can gain along with private school students, or states could require scholarship organizations to serve only low-income families or prohibit them from discriminating against LGBTQ students and teachers.
The rules may also specify how the federal program may or may not combine with existing state tax credit grants.
A spokesman for Shapiro said in a statement Thursday that his office is “awaiting federal guidance on key issues regarding the operation of this program, including which students will be eligible and how this federal initiative will interact with existing programs.”
Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans who support the tax break presented their positions at a press conference on Thursday.
“If Pennsylvania does not agree, residents will still be able to seek compensation [tax] funds, but their contributions will go to scholarships in other states,” state Rep. Martina White, a Republican who represents part of Philadelphia, said at a news conference Thursday. “In other words, Pennsylvania taxpayers will assist fund scholarships elsewhere while our students need it.”
Democratic state Sen. Anthony Williams, who represents Philadelphia, was not present Thursday but sent a statement supporting the federal program.
“If Pennsylvania decides to opt out, we can say with certainty that the first $1,700 in federal taxes for every Pennsylvania taxpayer will leave the state and go to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, to the IRS,” Jorge Elorza, CEO of Democrats for Education Reform, said at a news conference. “Who knows what will happen to the money when it gets there?”
But Susan Spicka, executive director of the public education group Education Voters PA, told Chalkbeat that it is “wildly irresponsible for anyone to urge Pennsylvania to join the federal voucher program before the Treasury has issued rules governing how the program will operate.”
Spicka said that without these rules, it’s unclear how much it will cost taxpayers for the state to implement and oversee the program.
Without clear accountability measuresSpicka worried that the program could open the door to “extraordinary opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse.”
Carly Sitrin is the Chalkbeat Philadelphia Bureau Chief. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.
