HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — The Pennsylvania House passed the budget on Wednesday evening in a 117-86 vote. The Senate now has to sign it before it will head to Governor Josh Shapiro's desk.
But, a program that supporters said would have given students in Pennsylvania the chance to get a scholarship to leave an under performing school district and go to another appears to be on the cutting room floor.
It comes after Shapiro on Wednesday announced that he would line item veto money in the Senate version of the state's budget that would have set aside $100 million for the program.
The program is called the Pennsylvania Award Student Success (PASS) program. It was also known as the Lifeline Scholarship program, and it had support from Republicans and originally Governor Shapiro.
On Wednesday in a statement before the House vote, Gov. Shapiro wrote that he was "unwilling to hold up our entire budget process over this issue."
READ MORE: Governor Shapiro issues statement on budget negotiations
In a letter to House Democrats the governor said that even if funding for the PASS program is in the budget, that money would not have been used. That's due to the fact that the House failed to move a bill that would have created the PASS program through legislation.
Democrats have argued that the scholarships take money from public schools that need them the most and give it to private schools or other districts that already have the funding they need.
Senate Republicans said the governor has "hoodwinked Pennsylvanians by going back on his word to bring Pennsylvanians together" and that the governor, "took the easy way out so members of his own party did not have to put a vote against a great and historic education package."
They argue the PASS program is necessary to give parents the ability to put their student in a school that will help them succeed. The program would have given between $2,500 and $15,000 to eligible students living in a district that is in the bottom 15% of reading and math scores. They would be able to use the money for tuition at a nonpublic school or on associated fees including special education funding.
According to Senate Republicans, the budget passed by the chamber includes $45.5 billion in total spending for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
It would be the third year in a row that raised education spending, and includes $567 million for basic education, $100 million in additional funding for the lowest performing schools in the state, and $100 million for mental health.
Lawmakers had a deadline of June 30 to send a spending plan to the governor's office, the PA House is expected to vote on the budget Wednesday night.
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