A proposed $100 million tax-credit expansion for private-school scholarships, explained

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Jacqueline Larma / Associated Press

House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny.

From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:

House education committee approved the bill

Jacqueline Larma / Associated Press

House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny.

• House Speaker Mike Turzai and some other lawmakers are pushing for an expansion of a tax-credit program for private-school scholarships. Philly.com’s Maddie Hanna explains how the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program works — and why Turzai wants to expand the program from $110 million to $210 million and create a process for automatic increases in future years.

• The Commonwealth Foundation supports the expansion, saying the program relies on voluntary donations and helps students “often trapped in poor academic settings due to their zip code.” The Education Law Center opposes the legislation, saying it is “an ill-conceived funding plan for private school vouchers that would also benefit religious schools.”

• The expansion bill passed out of the House Education Committee on Monday. Earlier this year, WHYY’s Avi Wolfman-Arent wrote about the debate in the Senate over expanding the program.

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Matt Rourke / AP Photo

In this June 2, 2017 file photo, former Penn State President Graham Spanier departs after his sentencing hearing at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa.

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