2 state bills would help parents with choosing schools

A SCHOOL-VOUCHER bill has the support of Gov. Corbett and would provide taxpayer-funded vouchers for low-income families with children in struggling schools to send them to private and parochial schools.

And another piece of legislation could burst the door wide open in allowing parents and students to enjoy the perks of suburban education without being penalized.

That bill, introduced recently in the House, would allow students to enroll in any school district across the state.

State Sen. Anthony Williams, who championed the voucher bill, said eliminating district borders would abolish the practice of educating students based on their ZIP codes.

"It's all on the menu of school choice," he said. "That's all everybody should want, availability.

"Parents would no longer have to put themselves in danger when trying to find the best opportunities for their kids."

Parent Karma Watson said that is long overdue.

"I think we should be able to send our kids anywhere that's going to give our kids the best education possible and the advantages they deserve," she said.

"Otherwise, we're reverting back to the '50s, because it's like segregation. They're keeping people from quality education."

Had she not found what she considered quality programs in her children's schools - her oldest is a senior at Germantown High, her fifth- and fourth-graders attend the Henry School and Fitler Elementary - she would have considered looking outside the city, she said.

Plenty of other parents she knows haven't been as satisfied.

"I don't advocate breaking the law," Watson said. "But if you have [a relative] living in [another] district, that should count for something."

-Dafney Tales