Pennsylvania Catholic schools brace for possible tax-credit cuts

Tens of thousands of Pennsylvania Catholic school students could lose scholarship funding if a bill passed by the state House eliminating a key tax-credit program is signed into law.

“The recent passage of House Bill 2632 by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives poses a serious threat to school children and families throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia said in a June 23 statement . If passed, the bill would eliminate the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs, a change he described as “devastating for school children and their families.”

State Rep. Nikki Rivera, D-Lancaster, introduced the bill , which the Pennsylvania House passed on June 22. Senate consideration is next.

Rivera said in a statement : “A $680 million annual scholarship tax program should be transparent and include detailed reporting. This bill would ensure that everyone can see how well EITC programs are working, whom they are helping, and whether students in private and parochial schools are receiving tuition relief.”

“This bill would not cut one penny from the $680 million EITC program,” she…