{"id":307490,"date":"2026-10-15T21:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T21:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/307490\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T21:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T21:34:07","slug":"shapiro-faces-mounting-pressure-to-opt-pennsylvania-into-federal-education-tax-credits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/307490\/","title":{"rendered":"Shapiro faces mounting pressure to opt Pennsylvania into federal education tax credits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat\u2019s valuable education coverage at the top of your feeds by clicking here<\/a> and checking the box next to our name.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has said he\u2019s \u201cvery open\u201d to opting his state into the Trump-backed federal scholarship tax credit program. But he may wait until after the midterm elections to make his official decision.<\/p>\n

In an October gubernatorial debate appearance, Shapiro said while other governors have \u201cshut the door on it,\u201d he\u2019s not one of them. He said his administration is \u201ccontinuing to digest\u201d the recently released rules governing the program<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think prudence here makes the most sense,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at it carefully, and in the next few weeks, we\u2019ll make our announcement.\u201d <\/p>\n

Advocates in support of the program are optimistic his debate answer signals he\u2019ll follow New York Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s lead<\/a>. Governors have until January 1, 2027 to opt in to the program. Currently 31 states, most led by Republicans, have done so. Among Shapiro\u2019s fellow Democratic governors, only Hochul and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis have voluntarily signed on. Democratic governors who have not yet announced their decisions<\/a> are under increasing pressure<\/a> from both sides. During a webinar put on earlier this month by tax-credit advocates, former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said school choice supporters should use Hochul as an \u201cexample\u201d to push Shapiro and others to opt in.<\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think the governor will opt in,\u201d Keisha Jordan, president and CEO of the Children\u2019s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, told Chalkbeat at an Invest in Education advocacy event on Thursday. \u201cWe just need it to happen soon because scholarship organizations have to prepare.\u201d <\/p>\n

Democratic State Sen. Anthony Wiliams, who represents Philadelphia, is among those in Shapiro\u2019s own party pressuring the governor to sign on. Program supporters say it could raise billions in new money for schools \u2014 definitely for private schools and potentially for public schools too<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Advocates for the program also argue that the state should opt in because otherwise Pennsylvania residents could still claim the credit, but that money would then instead flow to other states.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we do not do this, the program will still exist,\u201d Williams said Thursday. \u201cFolks who can write a check will write a check, and those resources will leave Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s critics warn that opting in could have devastating consequences for Pennsylvania students and could clash with the income eligibility limits imposed by the state\u2019s existing tax credit programs.<\/p>\n

A coalition of 17 civic and education advocacy organizations sent a letter<\/a> to Shapiro this month urging him to reject the program. The letter argued the program would \u201cfuel discrimination against students,\u201d direct tax dollars towards private intermediary scholarship organizations, and allow the commonwealth little authority to prevent groups from misusing the funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regulations confirm what we already knew: Trump\u2019s school vouchers will benefit wealthy families, support private school discrimination, and leave Pennsylvania\u2019s public schools behind,\u201d said Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of PA, in a statement. \u201cThese regulations remove any doubt that Governor Shapiro must reject Trump\u2019s federal voucher program.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Shapiro directed Chalkbeat to the governor\u2019s debate answer in response to a request for comment on Thursday. Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is running against Shapiro, said during the debate that if elected, she would opt Pennsylvania in \u201con day one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shapiro\u2019s record on similar programs offers little clarity on where he\u2019ll land. He has vocally supported state-backed voucher programs in the past<\/a> but has also vetoed them<\/a>. He has boosted funding for Pennsylvania\u2019s existing tax credit scholarship programs<\/a> but has also allocated millions more to public schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat\u2019s valuable education…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16473,37,539,28,30,29,19865,85],"class_list":["post-307490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-capitol","tag-harrisburg","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-pennsylvania-secretary-of-state-al-schmidt","tag-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}