Supporters of a new federal program that would grant tax credits to donors funding private school scholarships say it would expand Pennsylvania’s school choice options and give parents greater control over their children’s education.

Detractors say it would favor high-income families, lacks oversight and could hurt people who live in rural areas where there are fewer schools to choose from.

Whether Pennsylvania opts into the program and how it affects families in the state won’t be known until 2027. That’s when the federal tax credit scholarship program starts.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office and the state Department of Education didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment about whether the state will participate and how the new program would fit in with similar state tax credit programs that are already in place.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. David McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, headlined an event at The Oaklander Hotel sponsored by the Invest in Education Foundation, an advocacy group that’s celebrating inclusion of the program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that became law July 4.

“Now it’s time to actually implement it and build on it. Because this is just the first of many things that I hope we can do to make school choice an opportunity for every single kid in America,” McCormick said.

The tax credits and scholarships would help defray the cost of tuition at private schools, which range from about $12,000 at schools like Serra Catholic in McKeesport and St. Joseph High School in Harrison to more than $35,000 at The Kiski School in Saltsburg or more than $40,000 at Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel.

Central Catholic’s tuition is about $17,000, and Greensburg Central Catholic charges about $15,000 per year.

Most students at those schools receive some form of financial aid. The new federal tax credit program would build on that financial aid and allow more people to consider a private school instead of attending the district that serves the municipality a family lives within.

“We want to make sure that equality of opportunity is there for every single kid,” McCormick said.

The program has support from state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair County. She sent her kids to Catholic schools and said she can speak to the benefits of school choice because of that.

Despite the money Pennsylvania spends on public education, its public school test scores are lagging compared to the rest of the country and the Keystone State’s students aren’t ranked in the top 10 of any test results.

“This is nothing short of a crisis, and parents know it,” Ward said.

Pennsylvania Council on American Private Education Executive Director D. Merle Skinner, of Saltlick in Fayette County, said the program could make way for more innovation and growth among private schools.

“It allows families to pick and choose and do what they want to do,” Skinner said.

Although the program was part of a bill that became law in July, the program won’t be up and running until 2027. States can choose whether they will participate. If they opt in, they are also charged with coming up with how the program would work.

The Shapiro administration and state Department of Education haven’t indicated if Pennsylvania will participate.

Tuesday’s event in Oakland was preceded by an unrelated question-and-answer session McCormick also participated in at the Fairmont Hotel Downtown.

There, McCormick was hosted by Punchbowl News, and the senator spoke about a variety of issues including retirement security, the government shutdown and more.

— Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) October 14, 2025

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)