State Senate Committee Votes to Expand Pennsylvania Education Tax Credits

Two popular school-choice programs for Pennsylvania students would get regular annual funding increases – expanding access to thousands of families – under legislation a state Senate committee approved yesterday.

Sen. Mike Regan’s (R-Dillsburg) bill would automatically raise allocations to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) by 25 percent each year, provided at least 90 percent of obtainable scholarships have been utilized the year before. Regan estimated his funding rise would amount to $100 million more annually – about 0.3 percent of what the commonwealth spends on public education. His measure passed the Senate Education Committee by a party-line vote of seven to four and awaits a vote of the full chamber. 

Scholarships generated by the EITC and OSTC, both of which bestow tax breaks on corporations that contribute to educational nonprofits, have been popular in the Keystone State, with significant demand still unmet. According to Regan, the state denied 43,000 students’ applications for EITC or OSTC credits – nearly half of requests received – after lawmakers passed a $25-million expansion in 2019. That increase did allow 8,000 more scholarships than had been available in the previous year. … (Excerpts from the Pennsylvania Daily Star)