A Big Week for School Choice in Pennsylvania—and the United States

On Tuesday, school choice was the talk of the town in Harrisburg.

Hundreds of students, parents, lawmakers, and activists convened on the steps of the state Capitol to rally support for increased educational opportunities for Pennsylvania students, especially those trapped in chronically failing schools.

The event, organized by PA Families for Education Choice, included speakers like state Sens. Scott Martin and Anthony Williams and Rep. Martina White.

The event also coincided with the advancement of Lifeline Scholarships in the state legislature. The Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee voted Senate Bill (SB) 10 out of committee with an 8–3 bipartisan vote. SB 10 advances Lifeline Scholarships, also known as the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS). The proposed program would provide scholarships to tens of thousands of Pennsylvania students attending one of the state’s lowest-performing schools. Recipients could then use these restricted-use scholarships to pay for tuition or other education-related expenses at a nonpublic school.

The bill enters the fray as negotiations for the 2025–26 state budget heat up. A similar proposal has appeared in past legislative sessions, including a line item in the 2023–24 budget. However, Gov. Josh Shapiro, who once supported Lifeline Scholarships, vetoed the program from the budget. The proposed legislation will likely remain a contentious topic in the upcoming weeks.

Though polarizing among lawmakers, school choice remains wildly popular with voters. A recent poll shows that 70 percent of Pennsylvania voters support a state bill to “expand school choice through scholarships.”

Pennsylvania stands at the precipice of joining dozens of states advancing educational freedom nationwide. More than 30 states have implemented a program funding families in need a school that better meets their needs.

Such programs have proven to transform students’ lives nationwide. A new study about Ohio’s EdChoice Scholarship program found that recipients were more likely to enroll in and graduate from college than their public school counterparts. Moreover, low-income scholarship recipients were 175 percent more likely to graduate from college than their peers.

Such research suggests that school choice programs—be it Texas’s new program or Pennsylvania’s proposed Lifeline Scholarships—improve the likelihood of students enrolling in and graduating college.

Even Washington, D.C., has entertained developing a national program. Federal lawmakers reintroduced the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), which advanced out of committee in 2024 but never further. ECCA would generate about $10 billion in tax credit scholarships nationwide—$20 million of which would benefit low- and middle-income Pennsylvania families.

School choice has captured the cultural zeitgeist—and Pennsylvania may soon emerge as another prominent contributor to this nationwide movement.