I grew up in poverty, raised by a single mother who dropped out of school in tenth grade to work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. I was one of five children, and the first among us to attend college. That did not happen by accident. It happened because of a scholarship program that eventually grew into what Pennsylvania now calls the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC).
That program changed the trajectory of my life. And today, it is under direct threat.
On Sunday, Pennsylvania House Democrats introduced a 36-page bill that would effectively dismantle EITC, immediately taking away 30,000 scholarships from students. HB 2632 moved quickly through the House Education Committee and could reach the full House as early as Monday, June 22. When legislation moves this quickly, families often do not have time to understand the consequences before decisions are already made.
One of the central arguments being made in support of this bill is that EITC primarily benefits wealthy families, but I am living proof that this is false. My husband is a United States Army veteran, and I work for a nonprofit organization. We are not wealthy. We are a family that has stretched, sacrificed, and made hard choices because we believe investing in our children’s education matters. Those sacrifices, along with EITC, have proven fruitful.
My oldest son, Nicholas, just completed his first year of college. He earned back-to-back 4.0 GPAs, made both the Dean’s List and President’s List, was inducted into multiple honors programs, and is a sports broadcaster for his college. He also works multiple jobs to help contribute toward his tuition. His success is not accidental. It was built on the foundation of the education he received and made possible in part because of EITC scholarships that allowed him to attend private school.
Three of my other children currently attend Christian middle school with EITC support. Nathan participates in the National Junior Honor Society and Select Choir. Elaina and Emily are involved in music, athletics, and community service, and spend every Wednesday afternoon tutoring underprivileged students in our area.
These are not children from wealthy families taking advantage of a system. They are children who were given an opportunity and are using that opportunity to serve others, much like the countless families in the program who stand to lose their scholarships.
For decades, EITC has received bipartisan support because it expands educational opportunity. According to research highlighted by the Commonwealth Foundation, scholarship recipients graduate and attend college at higher rates than their public school peers. Yet demand far exceeds available funding: nearly 69,000 scholarship applications went unfunded during the 2023–24 school year because program caps limited access.
HB 2632 would not only eliminate thousands of scholarships but also end the Economically Disadvantaged Schools program, which provides additional support to students in some of Pennsylvania’s highest-need schools. If the goal is truly to expand opportunity for disadvantaged students, eliminating a program created to serve those students moves Pennsylvania in the wrong direction.
More concerning, Pennsylvania has made no measurable progress since 2003 in closing achievement gaps for economically disadvantaged students. EITC gives many of those families access to educational opportunities that would otherwise be beyond their reach.
The concern is not only that this bill may pass. It is that efforts like this, introduced rapidly and framed as reform, can slowly erode public understanding of what EITC actually does and who it serves. If families and schools do not speak up now, a future version of this effort may succeed.
I work for the Association of Christian Schools International, supporting schools and families across Pennsylvania and the Northeast who rely on programs like EITC to make private education accessible. I have seen this program succeed in school after school and family after family.
EITC is not a loophole. For thousands of Pennsylvania families like mine, it has been a lifeline.
Pennsylvania lawmakers have an important decision before them. I am asking them, as someone whose life was personally changed by this program, to protect it. The children it serves are counting on them to look past the politics and see the people. Give Pennsylvania students more opportunities to succeed, not less.
Barbara Roqué serves as Manager of Business Development for Association of Christian Schools International Children’s Tuition Fund. She is passionate about expanding educational opportunities for families through school choice initiatives and lives in Pennsylvania with her family.