facebook
rss
twitter
  • About
    • Contact
    • Elementary & Secondary Education Department
    • Social Concerns Department
  • Legislative Review
  • Issues
    • Catholic Education
    • Faith and Politics
    • Health Care
    • Life and Dignity
    • Marriage and Family
    • Religious Liberty
    • Social Justice
  • Bishops’ Statements
    • En Español
  • Resources
    • Bulletin Inserts
    • Church Documents
    • PA Catholic Statistics
    • Related Sites
    • Send A Letter to The Editor
  • Subscribe
    • RSS Feeds
    • Via E-mail
  • Contact
  • Podcast

Back to School Blessings for Scholarship Students

July 14, 2016
by Hill
educational improvement tax credit, EITC, Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit, OSTC, school choice, state budget
Comments are off

IMG_5454Summer vacation is still in full swing, but thousands of students are celebrating the chance to go to a new school this fall. This week the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed what is called the School Code Bill enabling support for public schools to move forward and providing a $25 million increase in the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs. The $175 million total line items fund scholarships for parents to send their children to a school that best suits their needs. Tens of thousands of students are able to attend Catholic schools with EITC and OSTC scholarships.

Both the EITC and OSTC programs provide businesses with a tax credit for donating to nonprofit scholarship or educational improvement organizations. These groups grant scholarships to students giving parents the economic means to choose the learning environment they believe is best for their children.

Scholarships are awarded according to the scholarship organization’s criteria. Minimally, EITC scholarships go to families with an annual household income of $75,000 or less with an additional $12,750 allowance per student and each other dependent living in the same home. Each diocese has its own program criteria. OSTC scholarships are for students who live within the attendance boundaries of a low-achieving public school as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education are eligible to receive a scholarship if their household’s annual income is the same as the EITC program discussed above. However, it is targeted to students with the greatest need, so priority is given to families closest to the poverty line.

Tax credits are not deductions; they are an actual reduction in the tax liability of a business. A onetime donation to a K-12 scholarship program earns a 75% tax credit; a two-year commitment yields a 90% tax credit. A business contributing to a pre-kindergarten scholarship program receives a 100% tax credit for the first $10,000 and a 90% credit thereafter. To be eligible for a tax credit, a business must pay at least one of Pennsylvania’s business taxes.

Pennsylvania’s 2016-2017 state budget debate has been a difficult one, but fortunately for parents everywhere, EITC and OSTC scholarships will be a welcome blessing.

About the Author
Social Share
  • google-share

News From Around PA

  • Pope hospitalized for respiratory infection, Vatican says
  • Archbishop Pérez: Join in prayer for the intention of the Holy Father’s good health
  • Photo Feature: Archdiocesan Mass for Persons with Disabilities
  • The Historical and the Mystical
  • Stop the Government from turning VA hospitals into illegal Abortion Clinics
  • Golden Apple Educators Announced for Diocese of Harrisburg
Click To Read More

Post Archives

Unable to load Tweets

Follow

Recent Posts

PA Budget Hearings for Wednesday, 3-29-23
Mar 29, 2023
PA Budget Hearings for Tuesday, 3-28-23
Mar 29, 2023
Budget hearings at the PA Capitol
Mar 21, 2023

All Issues

  • Catholic Education
  • Faith and Politics
  • Health Care
  • Life and Dignity
  • Marriage and Family
  • Religious Liberty
  • Social Justice

banner

Sign up to join the Catholic Advocacy Network today!

CClogo© 2021 Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Bookmark and Share Site by Halibut Blue® | Login