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State lawmakers may not be taking action anytime soon on a bill that would allow students in low-achieving school districts to use tax dollars to fund their education at schools of their choosing.
But Senate Bill 2 has drawn some attention of late just the same.
At least two school boards in the local area --Montgomery and Muncy Area school districts -- passed resolutions this week expressing their rejection of the piece of legislation.
And state Rep. Garth Everett, R-Muncy, conceded he's received some feedback from people about it.
"There is no indication that the Senate plans to do anything with the bill," Everett said. "It's sitting in committee."
The bill would amend the act of March 10, 1949, known as the Public School Code of 1949, "providing for education savings account; and conferring powers and imposing duties on the Department of Education and the State Treasury."
Public school officials have often spoken out against the use of state dollars, often referred to as vouchers, providing funding for students to attend private educational institutions.
Everett noted that while there is a fear that those dollars could be diverted away from public schools, it simply wouldn't affect local school districts.
"The bill only applies to students in low-achieving school districts," he said. "All we have here are high-performing school districts."
Everett said he doesn't buy into the "slippery slope" argument that passage of the bill would open the door to more dollars going to students opting for schools of choice.
He noted that the vast majority of public school students don't even attend low-achieving schools.
He isn't sure, he said, if he could support the bill.
"I would have to be convinced that this bill would help (students in low-achieving schools)," he said.
State Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, could not be reached for comment for this story.
The state School Boards Association in October spoke out in opposition to Senate Bill 2.
In a letter to the Senate Education Committee, it stated, in part, "This legislation would establish a new voucher system called 'Education Savings Accounts,' which would benefit nonpublic schools while causing significant, if not irreparable, harm to public schools and the educational opportunities of the students served in these schools."