Sen. Dave McCormick and parents groups hope Pennsylvania will opt in to tax credit scholarship program

To many parents, the decision between public or private school is almost exclusively based on cost. A new program, signed into federal law this year, hopes to make it much easier for all parents to have that choice, but Pennsylvania must first decide to opt in. 

"K-12, for the greatest country in the world, if you look at us compared to other countries for math and science, we're lagging behind," said Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick. 

At a press conference on Tuesday, McCormick talked about a program part of the Big Beautiful Bill that would allow anyone to donate to any school or scholarship fund with a 100% tax write-off. The idea is that more people may donate to these organizations, creating more money available for private schools and organizations to give away.

"My own child was afraid to go to school and had to leave the district environment because she was fearful. And that's what got me into this advocacy, because I saw that she needed something. How many other parents need something for their children?" said Sharon Sedlar, the CEO of PA Families for Education Choice. 

But as part of the bill, the new program, called the Educational Choice for Children Act, can only be allowed in each state if the governor of that state says so. 

"Why wouldn't a governor say yes to this?" KDKA-TV's Barry Pintar asked. 

"Actually, that's a wonderful question, and I think that opting into ECCA is a no-brainer. But our concern here in Pennsylvania is that Gov. Shaprio, when he was candidate Shapiro, told the children and the parents of Pennsylvania that he supported school choice. And when he was presented with the opportunity to sign a bill that would have brought life line scholarships into existence here in Pennsylvania, he vetoed that bill," said Megan Martin, the COO and general counsel of Commonwealth Foundation. 

KDKA-TV reached out to Shapiro's office but did not hear back. 

Opponents say that the program might steal money away from public schools when their attendance drops. 

If Shapiro would OK the program, it wouldn't kick in until January of 2027.