Tax credit scholarships are a boon for Philadelphia students

Ekram Ibrahim is a first-generation college student from West Philadelphia. As a K-8 scholarship recipient, the support laid the foundation for her educational journey. She attended the Islamic Education School in West Philadelphia and attributes her time there — coupled with her dedicated support system and network of mentors — to the educational opportunities she has since received.

Ibrahim is a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania. In a speech delivered at the Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia’s recent Legacy Gala and 20th-anniversary celebration, where she won the Distinguished Alumni Award, Ibrahim shared:

“Education has always been important to my family and me. However, access to quality education and resources wasn’t something I had at my disposal. The scholarship allowed my parents to send my siblings and me to a private school where I received numerous opportunities to advance my educational journey and work towards success.”

Ibrahim is just one example of a student who has benefited from a tax credit educational scholarship. Her success is extraordinary, but it shouldn’t be. We know that there are thousands of students in Philadelphia who deserve and could benefit from scholarships but are unable to access them. Each year, we turn away thousands of deserving Philadelphia students whose lives could be transformed through education.

Scholarships work. Nearly all (98%) students who receive our scholarships graduate high school on time, and 70% enroll in college. With more funds becoming available for students in Pennsylvania like Ibrahim, we will continue to invest in the bright futures of even more Philadelphia students.

On July 8, Gov. Tom Wolf signed Pennsylvania’s 2022-2023 fiscal budget, which includes a $125 million increase to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit, and similar programs.

These programs, which enable Pennsylvania businesses to earn state tax credits in exchange for contributing to an approved scholarship organization, make an indelible impact on thousands of students in Philadelphia and across the commonwealth. This is the largest increase in the program’s history — more than double last year’s $40 million increase — and will provide an estimated 31,000 additional K-12 students with scholarships to the school of their choice. We thank Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly for providing this additional funding.

Tax credit scholarships benefit students with the greatest need for quality, safe school options. In Philadelphia, approximately one in four K-8 parochial and private school students receive scholarships from Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, via the current tax credit programs to help defray the tuition of attending schools of choice. According to the most recent available Pennsylvania Department of Education data, 65% of Philadelphia private schools enroll low-income students, and more than half of those schools serve a student population that is at least 50% low-income.

As Philadelphia’s largest K-8 scholarship organization, we primarily serve students of color. Approximately 5,500 students received one of our scholarships in the last school year. Three in four of our students live in the city’s lowest-performing public school neighborhoods. The average annual household income for families of students who receive our scholarship is $40,000.

The bottom line is tax credit scholarships in Philadelphia benefit underresourced students who would otherwise attend a low-performing school. Program outcomes prove that scholarships work.

Keisha Jordan is president and CEO of Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia. @csfphiladelphia