Pennsylvania Student Vouchers

Senate Bill 1 – A Further Drain on Public Schools

There has been considerable media and public attention paid in recent months to the issue of “school choice” and education “reform” in Pennsylvania. Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), passed in the Senate in late October and now under consideration in the House, would provide tuition vouchers - euphemistically known as Educational Opportunity Scholarships - for students who wish to attend private and religious schools and give those schools the “choice” about which students they will accept.

If it becomes law, as much as an additional $1 billion of taxpayer funds could be taken from Pennsylvania’s public schools over three years and used to pay tuition for students to attend private and religious schools that are not accountable for results. That would be a further drain on the resources available to educate the vast majority of students across the state, especially as the legislature considers cuts to the budget of as much as another $1 billion.

Let your opinion count. Contact your local PA state legislators to tell them what you think.

PA Public Education Standards Are Necessary

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Education has set high standards for public school students, teachers and support professionals and results from standardized tests are available for everyone to see. However, private and religious schools are not required to meet the same standards, accountability measures, tests, rules and laws that public schools must follow. In other words, public monies may be used to fund private and religious school education with no oversight or accountability for how effectively those public dollars are being spent. SB 1 would not require private and religious schools to accept students who are academically challenged, or have behavior issues, special needs or other issues. The private and religious schools receiving voucher funds may choose to accept only those students who are already performing at a high level.

The Council for the Advancement of Public Schools supports school choice and school reform when it is real, but Senate Bill 1 provides neither – rather it provides taxpayer monies to private and religious schools and provides no “reform” whatsoever to the students and public schools struggling to succeed.

If passed, it will funnel significant dollars away from the very schools that are struggling to provide the necessary education to all students – those schools are often in communities suffering from a depressed local tax base and higher levels of impoverished students.

This is a critical issue impacting every public school student in Pennsylvania, so we urge you to share your perspective on SB 1 with your Pennsylvania legislators.

Some PA Student Voucher Issues to Consider

- For years, legislators have been saying that we have to hold our public schools accountable for results. Now, the public schools have standards and standardized test results that everyone can see.

- Private and religious schools are accountable to no one. If tuition voucher advocates really had confidence in private and religious schools, they would hold them to the same standards, accountability measures, tests, rules and laws that public schools must follow.

- Private and religious schools, not parents, have the “choice” on whether to accept or deny admission to students. They can exclude or favor students based on gender, church affiliation, ability, behavior and other special learning needs, or disability status.

- Vouchers do not provide “savings” to public schools. Public schools have the same overhead costs – maintaining buildings, transporting and feeding students, providing support services – and can’t reduce overall costs if a few students across different grade levels transfer to private or religious schools.

- If state funding for K-12 education is cut and vouchers drain dollars from public schools, the likely result is higher property taxes and cuts to public school programs that are proven to work, as districts struggle to fill the gap to provide a quality education to their students.

Are Student Vouchers Legal?

Pennsylvania needs comprehensive reforms based on proven strategies to improve every public school and provide real educational opportunity for all students.

However, SB 1 violates three separate provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution. It prohibits:

- Funding for sectarian schools (Article III, Section 15)

- Sectarian institutions (Article III, Section 29)

- Any school that is not under the absolute control of the Commonwealth without a super-majority vote of both chambers of the legislature (Article III, Section 30)

Learn more about the legality of PA student vouchers.

Learn More about Pennsylvania Student Vouchers

Read other perspectives on SB 1:

Pennsylvanians Opposed to Vouchers
Pennsylvania State Education Association
Education Law Center
League of Women Voters
American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania
Research for Action