Pa. Governor Unveils Details of Statewide Voucher Plan

By Laura Miller

By 2000, every family in Pennsylvania making $70,000 or less would be eligible for a tuition voucher that children could use to attend any public, private, or religious school in the state, under a plan Gov. Tom Ridge proposed last week.

The Governor unveiled the details of what would be the nation's first statewide school-voucher program as part of a reform plan called kids--the Keystone Initiative for a Difference in our Schools.

"We must open a broader menu of options for parents who are struggling to provide a good education for their kids," Mr. Ridge said in announcing the initiative, which includes support for charter schools...