Educational Choice Win: Pennsylvania Doubles Scholarship Program for Marginalized Students

School choice scored a big win in Pennsylvania’s newly minted budget.

Last week, lawmakers negotiated a $50 million increase to the Economically Disadvantaged Schools (EDS) program, a component of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, in the 2025–26 budget. The increase brings the total EITC funding to $575 million.

The multimillion-dollar increase nearly doubles the program—previously funded at $60 million—and will provide tuition assistance to 10,000 economically disadvantaged kids across Pennsylvania, bringing the cost of private education within reach of low-income families.

By law, the EDS supplemental scholarships are available to kids who (1) have already received tax credit scholarships and (2) attend a non-public school where 51 percent or more of the students receive a tax credit scholarship.

These scholarships can add up quickly. EDS scholarships are capped at $2,000 for K–8 students and $4,000 for students in grades 9–12. These scholarships are “stackable,” meaning students can add other scholarships, such as other tax credit scholarships, endowments, and other private scholarships. When combined, these scholarships can help tens of thousands of kids across the commonwealth.

Assuredly, educational choice still has a long way to go in Pennsylvania. Last year, about 80,000 EITC applications went unfulfilled due to program caps.

But this much-needed increase will help an additional 10,000 students attend high-quality private schools that they would otherwise be unable to afford.