What’s next for school vouchers in Pa.

HARRISBURG — The state budget is still at an impasse, held up by disagreement over a school voucher program.

The proposed school voucher program would’ve allowed families who live in the state’s lowest-performing school districts to use state dollars to send their children to private schools, and it dominated budget talks. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, helped create the plan with Senate Republicans. It failed to get support from House Democrats and Shapiro now plans to line-item veto the initiative.

Shapiro can’t issue that veto until the Senate signs the $45.5 billion spending plan, a procedural requirement that the top Republican leader said she’ll block until the Senate returns to session in September.

Meanwhile, the governor and GOP lawmakers say they still support school vouchers. So the issue isn’t going away.

Here’s what you need to know about the future of school vouchers.

Shapiro promised to veto the private-school voucher program, with a promise from Democrats, who hold a narrow majority in the House, that they would examine vouchers and consider expanding the state’s existing tax credit scholarship programs.

The House is now preparing a series of joint committee hearings to study the issue. They’ll likely take place in the early fall, said Rep. Peter Schweyer (D., Lehigh), who chairs the House Education Committee.

Republicans and school choice advocates will no doubt continue to push for a private school voucher program that would directly allow students from the lowest-performing schools in the state to attend private schools of their choice. They’ve advocated for scholarships of up to $10,000 for students in grades 9-12 and up to $15,000 for special-education students.

Public school advocates hope future hearings will show that school voucher programs don’t always reach the students they’re trying to serve.

“We never imagined anyone would be so wildly irresponsible as to put a school voucher program in the budget without any type of public hearing or any type of exploration,” said Susan Spicka, the director of public school advocacy group Education Voters of Pennsylvania. “Now it’s time for a conversation, and I think that’s what Pennsylvanians deserve: a conversation about who benefits from the current [tax credit scholarship programs].”

School choice advocates, for their part, hope the hearings can show how their proposed voucher program could be a lifeline to Black and brown students in failing schools.

They’re likely to resurface every budget season for the rest of Shapiro’s tenure. Shapiro’s support for vouchers during his gubernatorial campaign and promise to work as a bipartisan governor gave hope to school choice advocates and Republicans that they could start a private school voucher program.

Vouchers have been a priority for some conservative groups in the state for years, and they’ve spent tens of millions of dollars pushing the issue. They’re likely to continue that advocacy.

Conservative and school choice groups are the main supporters of a private school voucher program. Their main argument in support of the programs is: Education is a pathway out of poverty, so students — no matter their zip code — should be given the best opportunities to succeed.

Many private schools themselves support vouchers, because it’s a way to increase enrollment and recruit more students who, in theory, could not afford to attend on their own.

Public school advocates and teachers’ unions fiercely oppose any school voucher programs for a number of reasons.

They worry that the programs will drive money away from public schools, which are already underfunded. A Commonwealth Court judge ruled this year that the state’s school funding system is unconstitutional, and public school advocates argue lawmakers should focus on fixing that system before diverting money elsewhere.

Additionally, voucher opponents said they’re concerned that there is no requirement for private schools to accept students or accommodate them based on their learning or physical disabilities, gender identity, and more.

No, there is no direct-to-student school voucher program. Right now, businesses can apply to two tax credit programs — the Educational Improvement Tax Credit or the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program, known as EITC or OSTC. If approved, they can donate directly to the private school or program of their choice and receive a tax credit for their donation.

House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery), who is credited with getting Shapiro to line-item veto the school voucher program, told reporters earlier this month that he believes the upcoming hearings on the proposals will show that those existing programs are sufficient.

“I want to really make sure we open the books and have a really open discussion about what EITC does, what OSTC does, and how a [private school voucher] program might dovetail into that,” Bradford said.