The Commonwealth has not yet opted into the new federal tax credit scholarship program that Senator McCormick supports.
U.S. Senator Dave McCormick visited Pittsburgh on Tuesday and called for Pennsylvania to join a federal school choice program that aims to provide financial assistance for eligible students.
The federal tax credit scholarship program was signed into law by President Donald Trump in July. It will give taxpayers credit of up to $1,700 annually towards qualified schooling expenses, including tuition, books, and tutoring.
The program is set to take effect on January 1st, 2027.
“School choice does exist in our country today; it just exists for people that have the wealth to be able to send their kids anywhere they want. We want to make sure that opportunity, equality of opportunity, is there for every single kid,” said Senator McCormick at the Tuesday news conference in Oakland hosted by the Invest in Education Foundation.
People in opposition to school choice say the tax credits drain public funds that could be spent on improvements to public schools, and Pennsylvania has not yet joined the program.
Senator McCormick said Pennsylvania needs to allow its students to be eligible to participate in the program. “Pennsylvania and every other state that wants to take advantage of this incredible benefit needs to opt in,” he said.
Pennsylvania currently has its own school choice program, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit.
Other lawmakers are joining Senator McCormick in pressuring Governor Josh Shapiro to join the new federal program.
State Senator Judy Ward said, “I join with the others here to call on Gov. Shapiro to do the right thing and to tell the Trump administration that Pennsylvania wants in.”
While a decision has not yet been made for Pennsylvania, the Shapiro administration has not been silent. A spokesperson said the administration “is awaiting federal guidance to address key questions about how this program would work, including which students will be eligible, how this federal initiative will interact with existing programs, and more.”
