School vouchers are back up for debate in Pa.

HARRISBURG — Private-school vouchers are back on the table in Pennsylvania.

The GOP-controlled Senate on Wednesday again approved a $100 million initiative — this time in a 28-19 vote — that would allow some students in Pennsylvania’s poorest districts to attend private schools. The move comes less than a month since Gov. Josh Shapiro vetoed the same proposal, one he helped develop.

In addition, the Republican-led Senate cut a number of Democratic priorities from the state’s spending plan, including tens of millions of dollars in supplementary funding for the poorest school districts and money to continue a popular home-repair assistance program.

Shapiro, a Democrat, led the state through a monthlong state budget impasse after negotiations broke down between him, Senate Republicans, and House Democrats over school vouchers. He created the program with Senate Republicans but soon realized he could not garner enough support among House Democrats — who hold a one-seat majority in the chamber.

The state Senate returned Wednesday for an unusual August session day to pass two code bills, which contain the legislative language that allows the state to actually spend about $1.1 billion of the money legislators allocated in the $45.5 billion budget bill signed into law earlier this month.

Teachers’ unions were quick Wednesday to criticize the Senate GOP for forcing the voucher issue again.

“Republican leadership is actively working to dismantle public education,” said Jerry Jordan, the president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. “The notion that they continue to pursue an education privatization agenda that further siphons money from public education and instead invests in a system of education that is proven ineffective is simply outrageous.”

Leaders for House Democrats and Senate Republicans have struggled to negotiate with one another in Pennsylvania’s new divided General Assembly. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) said on Aug. 3 that he hadn’t spoken with the House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) since mid-July. Negotiations picked back up again in recent weeks but did not produce any meaningful agreements.

As talks continue to stall between House Democrats and Senate Republicans, GOP leaders said the ball is now in House Democrats’ court.

“Here is our first shot at a negotiation, sending something to the House and letting them counter,” said President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) in an interview with The Inquirer. “We’re negotiating in public now.”

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Ward urged the House to return to session next week to send its own version of the bills, which would likely include the $100 million program to send more state dollars to the poorest school districts and other Democratic priorities that Senate Republicans cut on Wednesday.

However, the House is unlikely to return before its next scheduled session day, Sept. 26. The House is currently tied 101-101, but a special election on Sept. 19 in a safe Democratic district is expected to return Democrats to a one-seat majority.

What’s more, House Democrats still don’t want to vote on a school voucher bill.

“I’m the whip, so that means that I count the votes,” said Rep. Dan Miller (D., Allegheny) during a press club luncheon on Monday. “I didn’t need to put it up to know where my caucus was. ... We know where each other are, and we know where we’re not. And we’re not for vouchers.”

The issue remains complicated for some Philadelphia Democrats, who understand that student achievement ranks near the bottom of all urban districts nationally and want students in their districts to have the opportunity to succeed.

Rep. Amen Brown (D., Philadelphia) came out in support of the vouchers earlier this month, the most vocal House Democrat to do so.

“I know what I fight for every single day in West Philadelphia,” Brown said on Dom Giordano’s radio show on Aug. 1. “And I’m just hoping that a lot of my colleagues start to do the same. We have to remove the politics out of it because our children are dying.”

Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D., Montgomery) said it was disingenuous for Senate Republicans to remove Democratic priorities from the code bills. Initiatives such as the Whole Home Repairs program to help Pennsylvania residents stay in their homes or funds for the poorest school district benefit all citizens, she said.

In addition to the measure creating a school voucher program, the Senate approved another fiscal code bill on Wednesday. That larger bill includes funding increases for state-owned universities, increased EMS reimbursement rates, and more. Advocates say the issues require swift action from the legislature.

» READ MORE: These backroom deals helped Gov. Josh Shapiro complete the Pa. state budget

Most Senate Democrats opposed both bills, with Sen. Anthony Williams (D., Philadelphia) voting with Republicans on both bills in support. Sen. Lisa Boscola (D., Lehigh) supported the larger bill.

Each of these programs was allocated money as part of the state’s $45.5 billion spending plan signed into law earlier this month. But they all require further legislative language to disburse the money, or the funds will sit unspent in the state Treasury until next year.