By Rep. Martina White
There’s a nurse living in Northeast Philadelphia. Her husband works in the trades. Together, they’re raising two children and doing everything right. But like so many working families, after the mortgage, groceries, property taxes and car payments, there’s little left at the end of the month.
Then, they faced a fear shared by countless parents: their children’s school wasn’t meeting their needs. Their kids were falling behind, and each passing year meant another year of lost opportunity.
A nearby private school offered smaller classes and individualized attention, but tuition made it unattainable. When they found Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit scholarship program, everything changed.
Today, their children are thriving academically and socially. That scholarship didn’t just change where they go to school. It changed their future.
Unfortunately, in Harrisburg, families like this one have become a target.
In recent weeks, House Democrats advanced proposals that would undermine the bipartisan EITC program, which has helped more than 100,000 students access schools that better meet their needs. Demand still exceeds supply, with roughly 70,000 students on waiting lists.
It began with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal cutting $30 million from the program.
House Democrats went further, advancing legislation that would have reduced funding by $100 million — eliminating scholarships for an estimated 30,000 children.
After pushback from parents, faith leaders and lawmakers, the strategy shifted.
Instead of cutting funding outright, lawmakers proposed narrowing eligibility so many working- and middle-class families would no longer qualify. Families like the nurse and tradesman were suddenly deemed too successful to deserve help.
That position is difficult to defend.
Just one week earlier, many of those same lawmakers voted to expand college scholarships for households earning up to $250,000 annually, increasing the maximum award to $8,000.
Apparently, a family earning $250,000 deserves public support for college. But a working family earning less than half is considered too wealthy to receive less than $4,000 to help their child access a better K-12 education.
That’s not a coherent education policy — it’s a double standard.
If scholarships expand opportunity, that principle shouldn’t begin at age 18. A child struggling in elementary school deserves the same chance at a better education as a student selecting a college.
Parents — not government bureaucracies — know what their children need to succeed. They should have the freedom to choose the best educational setting, whether that’s a traditional public school, charter school, career and technical program or private school. The funding should follow the student.
When families have real choices, schools must compete to earn their trust. That competition drives innovation, improves outcomes and benefits students.
Pennsylvania’s EITC program has become so successful that it helped inspire the new federal Education Freedom Tax Credit. If Pennsylvania opted into that program, it could unlock up to $1 billion in additional scholarship funding for students. Instead, that opportunity remains untapped — leaving thousands of families without options available elsewhere.
The nurse and her husband aren’t asking for special treatment. They’re not asking the government to raise their children. They’re asking for the ability to choose a school that gives their kids a fair shot.
That shouldn’t be controversial. And it shouldn’t be something working families lose simply because they’ve worked hard enough to earn a middle-class income.
Every child deserves the chance to succeed. Every parent deserves the freedom to choose the school that’s right for their family. ••
Rep. Martina White represents the 170th Legislative District.
