HARRISBURG – Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Bellefonte) has supported Senate passage of a package of three bills to help more parents make educational choices for their children.
The bills make critical improvements to the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs, which provide scholarships for students to attend the school of their choice.
The package of bills would ensure the scholarship programs can serve a greater number of students and help meet more of their educational needs.
The bills include:
- Senate Bill 931, which would ensure COVID-19 relief payments are not counted as income for the purposes of determining whether a family is eligible for the EITC and OSTC programs.
- Senate Bill 932, which would allow EITC and OSTC funds to be used for dual enrollment programs to earn college credits.
- House Bill 1642, which would help more students in economically disadvantaged schools get scholarships to attend the school of their choice. The bill would shift $5 million from the OSTC program to the EITC program to boost scholarship amounts.
“One of the key lessons learned during the pandemic is the importance of parents being involved in the education of their kids and being empowered to do what is best for their families,” Corman said.
“These improvements will make the EITC and OSTC programs more accessible and help build a brighter future for more young people.”