Constitutional law experts testified today that this bill – which is being pushed by labor unions – will jeopardize the constitutionally protected religious liberty of the Catholic Church and compromise its teaching mission in Catholic schools.

Attorney Mark E. Chopko, Esq., an expert in Church-State Law, believes the bill is constitutionally flawed. “The legislature is being asked to take sides in a religious dispute about authority and responsibility in Catholic schools,” he argued. “The legislation offends the free exercise of religion and establishment clauses of the United States Constitution.”

Chopko cited numerous court cases in the U.S. Supreme Court that affirm the right of churches to be free of government control, a right guaranteed under the First Amendment. In its 1979 opinion in NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago the U. S. Supreme Court said governmental oversight would inhibit the authority of the Bishop to administer the schools solely in keeping with the concerns of the Church and its teaching mission. The Church’s freedom to implement rules and to discipline teachers would be circumscribed by the power of government to look over the Bishop’s should in order to detect any anti-union motivation.

Dr. Robert J. O’Hara, Jr., Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (PCC) also testified against the proposal. “The Catholic Church established its schools for the very purpose of passing on the Catholic faith to new generations of Catholics,” he said. “Our teaching mission is not the same as the Church’s works of charity. The teachers and staff at our Catholic schools are not merely providing a service; they are in effect ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Catholic schools do not segment their functions into religious and secular components. At all times, the Catholic school is engaged catechesis and the formation of the Christian personality, a process integrated within the curriculum and disciplines of the Catholic schools. Teachers in Catholic schools choose this honorable ministry and accept the responsibility to spread the Gospel by way of example both in word and in conduct.”

Dr. J. Brian Benestad, Professor of Theology at the University of Scranton, testified that “A bishop, without violating Catholic social doctrine, could reasonably decide that recognizing a particular union could be an obstacle to maintaining the Catholic identity, academic excellence or financial viability of the schools in his diocese.”

A full transcript of the hearing is available online.

What’s the Educational Improvement Tax Credit?

The Educational Improvement ax Credit (EITC), established in 2001, provides businesses with a tax credit for their donations to nonprofit scholarship or educational improvement organizations.

More than 30,000 children in Pennsylvania already benefit from EITC scholarships, and many more benefit from innovative educational programs funded through the EITC. More than 3,000 companies doing business in Pennsylvania have pledged several hundred million dollars to the programs since they began.

Why is this important to the Catholic Church?

The EITC provides incentives for businesses to contribute to scholarship organizations, which then provide scholarships to children. In essence, it gives parents economic means to choose the learning environment they believe best meets the needs of their children, regardless of their family income.

Support for school choice can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which says:

“As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators. Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise.” (#2229)

Benefits for Businesses

Tax credits are not deductions. A tax credit is an actual reduction in the amount of tax a business will pay. In essence, a business can pay its taxes directly to the Commonwealth, or, by making a donation, substantially reduce its tax liability while helping families and building community good will.

To be eligible, a business must pay at least one of the following taxes: Corporate Net Income Tax; Capital Stock and Franchise Tax; Bank and Trust Company Shares Tax; Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax; Insurance Premiums Tax; or the Mutual Thrift Institutions Tax.

A onetime donation to a K-12 scholarship or educational improvement organization earns a company a 75% tax credit while a two-year commitment results in a 90% tax credit. A business can receive up to $200,000 in tax credits annually. A business contributing to a pre-kindergarten scholarship organization receives a 100% tax credit for the first $10,000 it contributes and a 90% tax credit thereafter. It may receive up to $100,000 in tax credits annually.

To receive its tax credit, the business simply submits a one-page application to the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Tax credits are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. After approval by DCED, businesses must make their contribution(s) within 60 days. Tax credit dollars become available annually in July.

Benefits for Students and Their Families

Fmilies may apply for scholarships, which are awarded according to the scholarship organization’s criteria. Minimally, scholarships must go to students with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less with an additional $10,000 allowance for the student and each other dependent living in the same household.

In the case of Catholic schools, each diocese in Pennsylvania has its own scholarship organization. Additionally, there are scholarship organizations associated with other private or religious schools.

What You Can Do

The continuation and expansion for the EITC is dependent on the state legislature. If your family received a scholarship through the EITC, be sure to personally thank your state legislators for their support. If you own a business, consider contributing to an eligible organization.

Maria will be a seventh-grader at the Cathedral School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania this fall. She spells success – EITC. A scholarship made possible by a business’s generous contribution through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program allows her family to choose Catholic education for Maria.

The EITC, established in 2001, provides businesses with a tax credit for the donations they make to scholarship organizations, which then provide scholarships to children. In essence, it gives parents like Maria’s mom and dad the economic means to choose the learning environment they believe best meets the needs of their children, regardless of their family income. During the 2007-08 school year, 44,000 children received EITC scholarships. Since the programs inception in 2001, more than 3,600 Pennsylvania companies have participated in the EITC program donating almost $350 million to participating organizations. The EITC program currently provides $75 million for K-12 and pre-kindergarten scholarships.

The EITC program recently received some modifications that will make a big difference in how companies can take advantage of the tax credits. Special thanks to Senator Jane Orie from Allegheny County, Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi from Chester County and Representative Keith McCall from Carbon County for their determined advocacy for changes that increased the amounts which each company can contribute to a scholarship organization. Pre-K contributions went from a maximum of $100 K to $150K and K-12 from $200K to $300K. In addition, Subchapter-S corporations, partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited liability companies become eligible to fully participate in EITC.

“Now many more companies can make this direct investment in our children’s education,” said Dr. Robert J. O’Hara, Jr., Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (PCC). “And those who give to scholarship organizations can give more. It helps a lot more companies and a lot more students. This is a victory for school choice advocates.”

Tax credits are not deductions. A tax credit is an actual reduction in the amount of tax a business will pay. In essence, a business can pay its taxes directly to the Commonwealth, or, by making a donation, substantially reduce its tax liability while helping families and building community good will.

To receive its tax credit, the business simply submits a one-page application to the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Tax credits are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. After approval by DCED, businesses must make their contribution(s) within 60 days.

Families may apply for scholarships, which are awarded according to the scholarship organization’s criteria. Minimally, scholarships must go to students with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less with an additional $10,000 allowance for the student and each other dependent living in the same household. In the case of Catholic schools, each diocese in Pennsylvania has its own scholarship organization. Additionally, there are scholarship organizations associated with other private or religious schools.

To learn more about EITC visit www.paschoolchoice.org or call 877-REACH 24.

PCC Column August 2008 by A.B. Hill, Communications Director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference – the public affairs arm of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops and the Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania.