The PA House passed HB 1330 out of the House by a vote of 190-7 today. The bill would expand Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. The REACH Alliance applauds the move, and views this legislation as part of a broader solution to expand school choice in Pennsylvania.
“We appreciate our Representatives’ commitment to the EITC program,” says Otto V. Banks, executive director of REACH Alliance. “The EITC has certainly demonstrated that school choice works and is well-received in Pennsylvania. We thank the House – especially Representative Tom Quigley – for their leadership on school choice issues, and look forward to working with the Chamber as the legislature moves forward with efforts to provide Pennsylvanians with more educational options than they have ever had before.”
REACH remains committed to pursuing passage of Senate Bill 1, which provides opportunity scholarships for both public-to-public and public-to-private school choice. It also includes a $25 million increase in the EITC, bringing the program total to $100 million per year. House Bill 1330 expands the amount available for tax credits to $100 million in the next school year and to $200 million in 2012-13 and beyond.
Many in the Legislature have called the EITC program the best educational initiative passed in Pennsylvania in the past 15 years. Funds for the program come from businesses, which make contributions to non?profit scholarship or educational improvement organizations. Since the program’s inception in 2001, more than 3,600 companies have pledged nearly $490 million to EITC organizations.
What is the REACH Alliance? Founded in 1991, REACH is Pennsylvania’s grassroots coalition for school choice. For more information on the REACH Alliance & Foundation, visit http://www.paschoolchoice.org/reach/site/default.asp. The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is a member of the REACH Alliance.
