Pa.+Senate+to+consider+bill+on+school+vouchers

= = = = =By Tracie Mauriello= =//Published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//10/26/11//= = = = = = = =HARRISBURG -- Legislation to help low-income families pay private school tuition is on its way to the Senate floor.= =In a 9-2 vote Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee put the controversial school-choice bill in position for a vote as soon as today.= =The legislation would provide vouchers for private schools and expand tax credits for businesses that contribute to scholarship programs for low- and middle-income children.= ="The time has come for adoption of a rescue plan for those students who have been failed by the current system," said Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, who sponsored the legislation along with Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia.= =Opponents say they worry about the children left behind in failing schools. That's because the money for the vouchers will come from the state's per-pupil spending that otherwise would go to failing public schools.= ="Every dime of the voucher program -- hundreds of millions of dollars -- are taken from the poorest schools and the poorest children in Pennsylvania," said Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery.= =Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, also opposed the legislation, saying it would violate constitutional provisions that prevent state dollars from going to religious schools.= =The American Civil Liberties Union is concerned about that too, said its Pennsylvania chapter lobbyist, Andy Hoover. "The constitution is clear and obvious that it prohibits programs like this," he said.= =Mr. Williams said that's for the courts to decide if someone files suit.= =If the bill is enacted, the poorest children in the state's 144 lowest-performing schools would be eligible for vouchers equal to the state's per-pupil spending in their district. Children in those schools whose family income is between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level would be eligible for vouchers amounting to 75 percent of state per-pupil spending.= =For example, four-person families with income under $29,055 would qualify for full vouchers, while those with incomes between $29,055 and $41,338 would qualify for partial vouchers.= = Most of the eligible schools are in Philadelphia. Those in Allegheny County are Westinghouse, Oliver and Wilkinsburg high schools; Sto-Rox and Wilkinsburg middle schools; Clairton, King, Northview, Woolslair, Arlington, Murray, Stevens, Sto-Rox, Johnston, Fairless and Woodland Hills elementary schools; Duquesne Consolidated School; and the Helen S. Faison Arts Academy. = =The amounts of the vouchers range from about $5,800 to about $13,900 depending on the state's school funding formula. Vouchers would be about $9,900 for Pittsburgh Public Schools students whose families meet income eligibility requirements.= =The first vouchers would be issued next school year and would be available to children enrolled in the failing schools. The following year, vouchers would be available to all children in the attendance boundaries of those schools, including those already enrolled in private schools. The program would be expanded after seven years to also include children in attendance boundaries of any schools where fewer than half of students reach the proficient level on standardized tests of math or reading skills.= =Mr. Piccola could not immediately say how many children would be eligible for the vouchers.= =A second provision in the legislation would set aside more tax credits for businesses that contribute to programs that provide scholarships for private elementary and secondary schools. The change would make $100 million in tax credits available annually starting in 2012-13. The amount would grow to $125 million in 2014-15 and then would increase 5 percent in each subsequent year. Currently, $75 million in tax credits are available.= =The legislation also makes it easier for local boards of education to convert public schools into charter schools.= =Mr. Piccola said the bill reflects priorities Gov. Tom Corbett has outlined.= =The governor, meanwhile, said he has been involved in the creation of the legislation and awaits the final version.= ="We have been working with the Senate and House on education reform. We'll wait and see what they pass out," he said. "Contrary to prior administrations, we kind of work very quietly behind the scenes."= =Advocates of school choice were heartened by the bill's passage but had hoped it would have included more failing schools, higher income limits for vouchers and also provisions that would have empowered a panel to approve new charter schools. Currently, only boards of education can grant charters.= ="We wanted more, but we understand that Pennsylvania is a conservative state and likes to do things in interval steps. We hope this is a catalyst for more school choice," said Otto Banks, executive director of the REACH Foundation, also known as Road to Educational Achievement through Choice.= =School-choice groups have been lobbying hard for vouchers and have contributed millions to political campaigns of Mr. Corbett and lawmakers who support school choice.= ="I don't think that money influenced this as much as public outcry and the desire for change," Mr. Banks said after the committee vote.= =Read more: [|http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11299/1184923-298-0.stm#ixzz1bse415ZV] = = = =News= =home=