Dave McCormick: Pennsylvania students cannot wait any longer for school choice

In living rooms across the country during the pandemic, many parents saw for themselves the dismal state of their children’s education. This was a tipping point for the school choice movement as parents started demanding access to educational options that actually prepare their kids for an uncertain future.

In recent months, I’ve hosted governors from Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Virginia — states that are leading the way in an education revolution that the Keystone State must embrace. Our challenge and opportunity is now clear: if Pennsylvania wants to lead America with a workforce geared for the 21st Century, we must embrace school choice to supercharge our education system. Otherwise, our Commonwealth and our children will most surely be left behind.

Growing up as the son of two Pennsylvania public school teachers, education was central to the hopes and dreams that my parents set for my brother and me. I feel that same sense of responsibility for our six daughters with my wife, Dina. But we are lucky: for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania families, failing public schools means educational opportunity and the American dream that might follow are left unrealized.

The facts must inspire a call to action. Nearly half of Pennsylvania’s fourth and eighth graders cannot read proficiently at grade level, and only 26 percent of eighth graders are proficient in math. In addition, a recent study projects that, on the low end, nearly 40,000 of the Commonwealth’s current fifth graders will either drop out before graduating high school or will graduate unprepared for college or career entry. The implications for America’s national security are also deeply troubling—among highly developed countries, U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 in math. A failure to take the steps necessary to change this state of affairs would be an unacceptable failure of leadership.

At its core, this issue is about individual freedom and finding educational opportunities that are best for each child. Parents should have the right to choose the school that is best for their child, rather than being forced to attend failing schools based solely on their zip code. We should be funding student success, not systems that fail to deliver results.

I recently read about the story of a student named Myles Slade-Bowers from outside Harrisburg. He was supposed to go to a public high school that is consistently one of the worst performing in the Commonwealth. But after securing a scholarship from one of Pennsylvania’s school choice scholarship programs, Myles instead went to a nearby college prep school and later went on to attend High Point University.

It’s stories like these that demonstrate why the General Assembly must expand school choice in Pennsylvania. Demand already far exceeds the caps on existing choice programs, with nearly 80,000 denied applications for tax credit scholarships each year. More students, especially those in low-achieving schools, need access to these scholarships to get the education they deserve.

But action in Harrisburg alone is not enough—we also must act at the federal level. I support the proposed Educational Choice for Children Act, which would create a federal tax credit that allows individuals and businesses to make tax-deductible contributions to organizations that provide scholarships to low- and middle-income families.

If passed, this legislation could provide tens of thousands of Pennsylvania students with scholarships to attend the school of their choice, all funded by private donations and without taking a penny away from public schools.

My opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, won’t support this legislation because he’s reluctant to take a strong stance and beholden to the same liberal teachers unions that kept kids out of the classroom for years during the pandemic.

Bob Casey’s position is even more inexcusable because he had school choice and attended a parochial school. Yet for hundreds of thousands of his constituents stuck in failing public schools who are asking for similar opportunities, Casey’s answer is a resounding no. 

Choosing where your child goes to school should not be a privilege only reserved for wealthy and well-connected parents. If I have the honor of serving Pennsylvanians next year, I’ll fight for our kids, I’ll fight for school choice, and I’ll fight for Pennsylvania’s future.

Dave McCormick is a West Point graduate and combat veteran who has been the CEO of two successful businesses. He is running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.