UPDATE: Voucher Bill Passes Senate

Updated Oct. 27, 2011:

The Pennsylvania Senate, by a 27-22 vote, last night approved an amended and expanded Senate Bill 1, giving taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers primarily to students already enrolled in private and religious schools.

The fiscal note for the bill, released late yesterday by the Senate Appropriations Committee shows that relatively few students attending public schools will use the voucher:

• Only 9 percent of eligible students attending low-performing public schools are expected to be accepted with a voucher at a non-public school, while 100 percent of eligible students currently enrolled in private and religious schools will receive voucher funding.

The fiscal note also shows that in the 2013-14 school year $50 million of public, taxpayer money is expected to fund tuition vouchers for students already enrolled in private and religious schools, compared to $25 million for students seeking to use a voucher to leave a low-performing public school, according to the Fiscal Note.
 
In addition, from 2013 through the 2015-16 school year a total of $150 million of public, taxpayer money is expected to fund tuition for students already enrolled in private and religious schools -- that's 60 percent of the total voucher funding, according to the Fiscal Note.

Read the attached fiscal note and our analysis.
SB1.FiscalNote.pdf

SB1.FiscalNote.Analysis.ELC.10.26.11.pdf

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Previous post:

The Senate Education Committee, by a 9-2 vote, today approved an amended and expanded Senate Bill 1, giving taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers to students already enrolled in private and religious schools.

The measure includes new charter school legislation and the further expansion of an accountability-free Educational Improvement Tax Credit program.

Read the latest reports:

Amended Voucher Bill Heads to Senate Floor for a Vote

Urgent Action Needed to Save Public Education

Unpopular, expensive, untested voucher plans take public education ...

PA Senate Education Committee advances school voucher plan

Tell us why vouchers are the wrong step for Pennsylvania's public school students and families.