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Penn. Legislature Considers School Vouchers For Low-Income Families

Pennsylvania is moving forward with a school voucher program for low-income families.

A school voucher program for low-income families is moving through the Pennsylvania State Senate, the Delaware County Daily Times reports.

Under the program, which passed the Senate Education Committee, Pennsylvania students enrolled in 144 of failing public schools in the state would have access to an average voucher of $7,700. Students from families that make less than $29,000 annually will be eligible for a full voucher; families that make less than $41,00 qualify for a partial one, according to the Daily Times.

The voucher program, which would begin in the 2012-2013 school year, would allow students to move to charter or private schools. It would also expand the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, which gives scholarships to low-income families and is funded by corporate donations. Families who make less than $60,000 yearly are eligible.

"The time has come for adoption of a rescue plan for those students who have been failed by the current system," state Sen. Jeff Piccola, committee chairman and a lead sponsor of the school choice bill, told the newspaper.

Dylan Scott is a GOVERNING staff writer.
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