(Harrisburg) -- Members of the state House Committee on Education are holding two public hearings at the Capitol this week on the subject of school choice. A few different proposals for education reform have been introduced. Each has a slightly different approach to providing vouchers for students based on their family's income, whether they go to a failing school or simply reside within the attendance boundaries of a failing school.

Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis says the best legislative package will be targeted at students trapped in failing schools - regardless of a family’s financial situation. "We must ask ourselves why we force parents to send their children to a particular school rather than allow them to choose another school that may meet their needs. This is especially true for parents with children in schools that we know and that universally we would agree are failing," Tomalis says.

He says any vouchers program should be accountable to taxpayers -- meaning students receiving vouchers should be required to take tests to measure their academic prowess. The secretary also supports maintaining the tax breaks provided to businesses that fund education scholarship programs - with the possibility they could be expanded upon further consideration.