As U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick continues to advocate for a federal school choice program, he expressed optimism that first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro would opt Pennsylvania into it.

“I think that the rationale of this opportunity will hopefully convince him to opt in,” the Pennsylvania Republican said Monday afternoon. “I hope and expect he will.”

McCormick’s comments about the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit were made during a virtual roundtable discussion hosted by the American Federation for Children, an organization that promotes school choice.

The federal program was enacted as a result of the Working Families Tax Cut Act. The legislation established a new federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions made to a scholarship granting organization.

“Those donations translate directly into critical education support, such as scholarships, tutoring, services for students that meet students exactly where they are, whether they attend public or private school,” said U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon during the event.

The Department of Education describes scholarship granting organizations as “nonprofits that accept qualified contributions from individuals and use the funds to provide scholarships for education-related services at private or public schools, including tuition, fees, academic tutoring and classroom supplies.”

Under this program, states can decide whether to opt in to become a “covered state.”

“The governor will have the opportunity to make this decision in the coming months, and I'm hopeful and confident he'll make the right one,” McCormick said.

Thirty states, so far, have decided to participate in this program, as of Thursday, according to the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank supporting school choice. A majority of those states that have opted in to the federal school choice programs have Republican governors in office.

Two different states led by Democrats have taken different paths in opting into the program.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, told The Colorado Sun that it was a no-brainer for the state to opt into the federal tax credit scholarship program, describing it as a “real boom of investment in kids.”

“It supports donors to give more money to our schools,” Polis said. “I mean, I would be crazy not to.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, on the other hand, vetoed a bill that aimed to opt into the program.

“Kentuckians have said loud and clear: Public dollars should only be used for public education,” Beshear said, according to the Kentucky Lantern. “The Republican supermajority hasn’t listened. I have. Today, I am standing with our people and vetoing House Bill 1.”

However, in March, Kentucky’s Legislature overrode Beshear’s veto, resulting in the state opting into the federal program.

Republicans in Pennsylvania have largely called on Shapiro to opt into the program. State Sen. Anthony Williams, a Democrat representing parts of Philadelphia, appears to be one of the lone members of his party pressuring Shapiro to join the program, saying that “every student deserves access to the resources they need to succeed.”

“The federal tax credit scholarship program would help make that possible by unlocking private donations to support educational opportunities for students across Pennsylvania,” Williams wrote in an op-ed published last week. “Importantly, this is not taxpayer money coming out of the state budget. It is privately funded support directed toward helping children succeed.”

“If Pennsylvania fails to opt in, individuals who want to contribute to educational opportunity will simply send those dollars to other states that participate in the program,” the Philadelphia Democrat continued. “That means Pennsylvania children lose out while our charitable dollars leave the commonwealth.”

Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury provided a preview for the implementation of the new federal scholarship tax credit.

“The forthcoming guidance is expected to provide states, scholarship-granting organizations, taxpayers, and other stakeholders with a clear path to prepare for the launch of the Education Freedom Tax Credit in January 2027,” the U.S. Department of the Treasury wrote on June 10. “Treasury expects to issue proposed regulations by the end of September. States, scholarship-granting organizations, and taxpayers are expected to be able to rely on those proposed regulations for tax year 2027.”

Shapiro has not made a final decision.

On Tuesday, Rosie Lapowsky, speaking for the governor, told The Center Square “the Shapiro administration appreciates the new information from the federal government, and we are continuing to review this new program.”

States that opt in must provide a list of scholarship granting organizations that meet the statutory requirements by Jan. 1 of each calendar year, according to the Department of Education. Students eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school and from a household with income not greater than 300% of the area’s median gross income qualify for a scholarship through the Education Freedom Tax Credit.

On the campaign trail in 2024, McCormick highlighted his support for a national school choice program and became a cosponsor of the federal proposal.

McCormick described his vote for the Education Freedom Tax Credit as his “proudest vote” as a senator.

“Pennsylvania needs to opt in,” McCormick said. “Families need to know that this opportunity exists, and scholarship organizations need the clarity to prepare for what will hopefully be an enormous amount of resources coming their way.”

“State leaders also need to hear directly from the parents, the educators, the school teachers, and the community organizations closest to the students that this program is meant to serve, and that, that my friends, is the purpose of today's discussion.”

McCormick said he’s talked to the governor about this proposal and trusts “his motivations” and believes that he’s giving it “serious consideration.”

“I think he wants great opportunity for every kid in Pennsylvania,” McCormick said. “He and I share that, even though we may be from different parties, and so I've encouraged him.”

The roundtable discussion featured various educators around the commonwealth. They talked about what they think it would mean for Pennsylvania to opt into the federal school choice program, while also emphasizing the importance of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Scholarship, commonly known as EITC, which uses personal and business donations to give financial aid to students at private schools.

Since December, Jenny Sved has been the executive director of Teach PA, an organization that advocates on behalf of Jewish day schools across the commonwealth.

Sved said since stepping into that role, the one common phrase she’s heard from schools is that they would not exist without Pennsylvania’s EITC program.

“So we're already seeing scholarships working for our Jewish day schools, and the prospect of having an additional opportunity for more schools to benefit, more students and schools to benefit from a scholarship like this, would just be really huge,” Sved said.

Myles Slade-Bowers was the beneficiary of a Pennsylvania tax credit scholarship and said his family was a part of the “missing middle.”

“We were far too rich for government assistance and not rich enough to really call it living,” Slade-Bowers said.

Slade-Bowers, now an advocate for school choice, said that in the school year 2023-24 alone, over 100,000 scholarships were awarded in Pennsylvania, but added that 60,000 qualified students are still sitting on a waiting list.

“And that's where the federal tax credit scholarship program can start bridging the gap to help save those families in the missing middle,” Slade-Bowers said.

Rev. Joshua Robertson lives in Harrisburg and is the founder and CEO of Black Pastors United for Education. He started the organization due to demand for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and said they now have five locations across the state – two in Harrisburg, two in York, and one in Philadelphia.

“We need him to get this done, and to opt into this federal tax credit scholarship program,” Robertson said of Shapiro. “It is one of a kind, and I think that this is the way that he can show leadership and a true compassion for the least of these.”

David Hardy, a senior fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation, is the cofounder and retired CEO of Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia charter school.

Hardy said wealthy neighborhoods already have great public schools, but believes opting into this federal program would benefit kids in lower income neighborhoods.

“People need, they need options, they don't just need more money into a system that doesn't work for them,” Hardy said. “They need more options, and this brings more money and more options into neighborhoods that won't get the job done unless it has those options.”

Monday’s event was not the first time that advocates have convened events bringing this issue to light.

In April, McMahon joined Republican lawmakers for a rally on the steps of the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, and later spoke at a conservative conference about the program.