Piccola, who first proposed vouchers 16 years ago, said he was ready to take on the educational establishment to see his bill through. Lest anyone wonder who Piccola meant, he singled out the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which is the state's largest teachers union, and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
"Vouchers is not a four-letter word," Piccola said. "PSEA is a four-letter word, and PSBA is a four-letter word."
The rally came a week after Gov. Corbett pledged in his inaugural address to fulfill his campaign promise to deliver school choice to Pennsylvania families.
Tuesday's Rotunda rally brought together an unusual coalition of voucher supporters: urban and rural, white and black, Republican, Democratic, and tea party.
The proposal's prime champion, the governor, was there by proxy. Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley stood in for Corbett, who he said was unable to make the event.
Under Senate Bill 1, the state would redirect a substantial block of public-school dollars - on average, about $9,000 per pupil - to help low-income parents pay tuition at a private, parochial, or charter school of their choosing. The money could also help cover tuition if parents chose a public school in another district. The bill would first target low-income children in the worst-performing schools, and expand over three years to become available to such children at all public schools.
At Tuesday's rally, hundreds of parents and children from charter schools, mostly in Philadelphia - where proponents say as many as 50,000 children are on waiting lists for 74 charters - waved signs and chanted, "My child, my choice."
