Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania offers K–12 students and their families several types of school choice, including two private school choice programs, charter schools, magnet schools, home schooling and inter-district public school choice via an open enrollment policy.

Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program

• Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program offers corporations tax credits for their donations to scholarship organizations (SOs) that provide private school scholarships. Students who meet the zoning and income requirements can receive scholarships funded from those tax credits.
• Enacted 2012

Program Rules:

• • Income Limit: $96,676 plus $17,017 per child (higher for students with special needs)
  • Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
  • Geographic Limit: Statewide
  • Enrollment Cap: None
  • Scholarship Cap: $8,500 / $9,500 (economically disadvantaged school) / $15/16,000 (special needs)
  • Testing Mandates: None
  • Credit Value: 75 / 90 percent
  • Per Donor Credit Cap: $750,000
  • Budget Cap: $55 million
  • Additional Information: Limited to students in low-performing schools

Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program

• The Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program offers tax credits for corporate contributions to the following nonprofit organizations: scholarship organizations (SOs), which provide private school scholarships; educational improvement organizations (EIOs), which support innovative programs in public schools; or prekindergarten scholarship organizations (PKSOs). These nonprofits provide low- and middle-income families private school and prekindergarten scholarships, as well as organizations that support innovative public school programs.
• Enacted 2001

Program Rules:

• • Income Limit: $96,676 + $17,017 per child (higher for students with special needs)
  • Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
  • Geographic Limit: Statewide
  • Enrollment Cap: None
  • Scholarship Cap: Full tuition
  • Testing Mandates: None
  • Credit Value: 75 / 90 percent
  • Per Donor Credit Cap: $750,000
  • Total Tax Credit Cap: $175 million for K – 12scholarships

To find out more about educational choice programs in your state, please complete the below form.