MEMORANDUM
TO: MEMBERS OF PA SENATE
FROM: LARRY FRANKEL
DATE: APRIL 18, 2005
RE: SENATE BILL 507
Ever since the enactment of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, the ACLU has been interested in learning how those credits are being used and whether these programs result in any real improvement in academic achievement.
The ACLU is interested in learning about how these credits are being used, but our interest does not stem from a burning desire to challenge them in court. Rather we think more needs to be known about the credits so that a proper and disinterested evaluation of the extent of their effectiveness can be made.
The ACLU, like many others, would like to know how many of the beneficiaries of the scholarships are children who opted out of the public school system even before the scholarships became available. We think that in order to accurately evaluate the true value of the scholarships, the public needs to know how many students are transferring to new schools because of this program and how many schools are enrolling new students because of the scholarships.
The fact that the scholarships are funded by tax credits rather than by direct expenditures does not eliminate the public's reasonable right to know how these credits are really being used. The indirect expenditure of tax funds does not eliminate the responsibility of policy makers for looking at the question of whether this is a good use of funds. Nor does it negate the duty to make sure that this is the best use of public dollars.
If the tax credits are not fulfilling their intended purposes, then they should be reevaluated. It could be that after due consideration of the relevant data, there will be a consensus that it is really in the public interest either to eliminate or reduce the tax credits or redirect them to other beneficial purposes.
The ACLU also believes that there is a legitimate public interest in knowing more about the overall performance of students who receive the scholarships. As you know, there are several recent studies and reports that have questioned the performance of students in charter schools. There is considerable doubt as to whether charters are really making that much of a difference. Similar studies should be conducted to determine whether there is any relationship between the scholarships and improved student performance.
Collecting further information can facilitate a meaningful comparison between the scholarship programs and other proposed educational improvement efforts such as reducing class size or providing more kindergarten programs and pre-school programs. How are the members of the legislature supposed to decide whether to continue or expand the EITC program or develop other programs if there is no performance data which can be used to evaluate the EITC program?
While Senate Bill 507 does call for the collection of some data, it does not permit for the collection of some of the most important data. Senate Bill 507, in fact, would actually bar the collection of most of the information that is needed to properly evaluate the scholarship program. That is because of the legislation's explicit limitation on the collection of information not specifically mentioned in the bill. That means the department cannot ask for the names of the schools where students are going, the number of students who are using the scholarships to transfer from public schools, or any questions related to performance of the students. Without such information, no meaningful evaluation of the program can be made. Without such information, there is no real accountability.
In sum, the ACLU believes that Senate Bill 507, as currently drafted, does not provide the public with the kind of information that is really needed. In fact, it is entirely possible that the enactment of this legislation will result in litigation by someone who wants to objectively evaluate the EITC program and suspects that the scholarship organizations are seeking to prevent such an objective evaluation.
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