Gov. Josh Shapiro withdraws support for bipartisan school voucher program to appease Democrats.

Gov. Josh Shapiro Takes a Stand on School Voucher Program

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) has made a bold decision regarding a school voucher program he helped draft. Despite facing pushback from Democrats in the Pennsylvania legislature, Shapiro is determined to make a difference.

In his efforts to pass his first budget as governor, Shapiro played a key role in creating a provision that satisfied Republicans – a $100 million school voucher program. However, after the legislation successfully passed in the state Senate, Pennsylvania House Democrats made it clear that they would not support the budget with this provision included. Feeling the pressure, Shapiro announced on Wednesday that he would veto the provision in order to move the budget forward.

A Standoff Over PASS Scholarships

“We stand at an impasse largely over one provision of this budget, PASS Scholarships, a proposal I support that has been passed by the Senate but one that Leader Bradford has made clear does not have the support of the House, where it was voted down in committee on Friday,” Shapiro stated in a released statement.

Shapiro further explained that Leader Bradford had requested a legal memo from the Office of General Counsel, which confirmed that without enabling legislation, the program could not be implemented. Recognizing that the two chambers would not reach a consensus at this time, Shapiro made the difficult decision to line-item veto the full $100 million appropriation, removing it from the budget bill.

While expressing his disappointment, Shapiro revealed that state Democratic Rep. Matthew Bradford had promised to explore other education options, including PASS, Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC), and Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), to address the public education needs in light of recent education rulings.

A Controversial Move

Shapiro’s decision is expected to spark outrage from Republicans, who had agreed to support his other education spending only if the voucher program was included. The school voucher program has long been a priority for Republicans in the state.

“This budget that we put together was put together with the governor as an agreement, as a whole package,” stated state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a Republican. “If they pull out our priorities… you’re going to see a very slimmed-down, scaled-back budget because there were things in this budget that we really didn’t want to do.”

Democrats opposed the voucher program due to concerns that it could divert funds away from public schools. Notably, Democrats receive significant support from teachers unions, which strongly oppose the implementation of vouchers.

It remains to be seen how this decision will impact the education landscape in Pennsylvania. However, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s unwavering stance on the school voucher program has certainly ignited a heated debate.

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