Pennsylvania has two programs that will spend a combined $470 million in 2023-2024 to provide taxpayer-funded vouchers to private and religious schools: the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs.  

Since their inception in 2001, the EITC and OSTC programs have provided more than $2.6 billion in taxpayer-funded support for private school vouchers. Yet Pennsylvanians know virtually nothing about who has benefitted from these programs or if they have had a positive or negative impact on student achievement.

House Bill 2063 aims to take a first and very important step toward creating some transparency and basic accountability for these tax credit voucher programs.

This legislation proposes to:

• Lower the family income limit for eligible students.

• Require that this limit be enforced.

• Require reporting and public disclosure of information that will allow for a meaningful evaluation of program effectiveness and an understanding of whether or not scholarships are actually going to those who need them the most.

State law requires extensive reporting and accountability for public schools that receive tax dollars. It is a reasonable expectation that state lawmakers would also require private schools that receive tax dollars to provide basic information that will ensure that a meaningful evaluation of the programs is possible.

Before any policy discussions occur to expand funding for the EITC/OSTC school voucher programs or the implementation of a new voucher program, the commonwealth must conduct a thorough examination of Pennsylvania’s existing EITC/OSTC voucher programs. Taxpayers must know, based on data, that the current funds are producing positive outcomes.

Please take a minute to ask your state representative to cosponsor and support House Bill 2063 to help ensure accountability for the $470 million tax dollars that are spent on school vouchers each year.