HARRISBURG — The school voucher bill has been put on hold.
Senate Bill 1, which creates state-funded “opportunity scholarships” to send students to nonpublic schools and other public schools out of a local district, was referred back to the education committee Wednesday, said state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, of Loyalsock Township.
Yaw said he is not sure what this means for the bill, which also includes increasing the 10-year-old Educational Improvement Tax Credit to businesses that donate to student scholarships.
The bill’s move back to committee is because of an amendment being worked out with Gov. Tom Corbett’s office, said Colleen Greer, spokeswoman for bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Piccola, R-15, of Halifax. She did not respond to a query about what the amendment entails.
The referral comes as rhetoric ramps up regarding the so-called “school choice” bill.
Proponents say, among other things, the voucher part of the bill would create competition, improve public schools, empower parents and rescue students in one of 144 “failing” schools across the state.
That’s not exactly the case, according to the Education Law Center, a statewide educational policy group. The measure really will benefit only students already in nonpublic schools once the program gets in full swing, said Brett Schaeffer, the center’s communications director.
By the voucher program’s fourth year, “You’re now giving these vouchers to those who have already enrolled their kid in a nonpublic school, which is very different than the original rhetoric around the bill,” Schaeffer said.
He based his comments on a fiscal note the Senate Appropriations Committee attached to the bill on April 11. The committee creates cost projections for every piece of legislation proposed in the Senate.
By the fourth year, an estimated 48,500 students already in nonpublic schools would participate, while only about 6,550 students who started in failing public schools would participate.
The cost to the state would grow from about $41.47 million in the first year to about $328.1 million in the third year, the note states. By the fourth year, the cost would drop to about $276. 3 million.
Sen. Jake Corman, R-34, of Bellefonte, who represents western Union County, is chairman of the Appropriations Committee that drafted the fiscal note.
A proponent of the bill, Corman said it would start off targeting the areas most in need — poor performing schools.
“That is the initial thrust of the bill,” he said. “It affects them immediately. But obviously, the ultimate goal is to empower parents. Each year we try to expand that a little bit.”
Other Valley senators gave mixed opinions on the voucher program, saying they agreed to the concept, but were leery of the end result.
Yaw said he has received “literally thousands” of emails from across the country both for and against the proposal. He said he has reserved judgment until the measure is completed.
“I can’t say I agree with the whole of everything that’s in Senate Bill 1,” he said. “But at this point, I really have no prediction on where this bill may go.”
Sen. John Gordner, R-27, of Berwick, said he is worried the voucher program may have unintended consequences for religious schools.
The courts have ruled vouchers meet constitutional muster in other states where similar programs are in effect, saying the state money goes to parents who chose to use it for nonpublic or religious education.
That’s not to say another court case down the road couldn’t change that philosophy.
“Up until 50 years ago, there was prayer in public schools,” he said, “and now we’ve gone in the complete opposite direction because of court cases.
“This public money going into religious schools may not ultimately be the benefit these religious schools think it will be because of potential court decisions down the road.”
Even if the bill makes it to the governor’s desk, there still is no guarantee it will be put into action, Corman said.
A lot depends on what the state budget looks like in the years to come.
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