Commentary

Op-Ed: With $7 Billion to Spend, Lawmakers Must Avoid Past Mistakes

• June 16, 2021

The lesson is clear. If politicians use federal stimulus money to expand existing programs, their successors will face intense political pressure to make those spending increases permanent, compounding our structural…

Commentary

Op-Ed: More school choice means fewer lotteries

• Stephen Bloom
• June 16, 2021

SB 1 also includes an important provision to increase the availability of charter schools. Pennsylvania law currently places school districts in charge of charter school authorization. Unsurprisingly, districts often reject…

Commentary

Op-Ed: Students will suffer under Wolf’s latest charter attack

• Colleen Hroncich
• June 9, 2021

Targeting charter schools under the guise of fiscal responsibility is the latest attempt by the Wolf Administration to limit school choice for families. After the struggles of the past year,…

Commentary

Education

Understanding Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs)

• May 24, 2021

Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs) are publicly funded accounts that provide families with direct access to educational resources.

Commentary

Op-Ed: Demand After COVID-19 Sparks School Choice Proposals in Pennsylvania

• Kevin Mooney
• May 19, 2021

In Pennsylvania, education opportunity accounts figure into a larger set of reforms that would build on existing initiatives in public and private school choice. …

Commentary

Voters can restore checks and balances on May ballot

• May 18, 2021

One amendment would limit an emergency declaration to 21 days; the General Assembly would have to approve extensions. The other would give the Legislature the power to end an emergency…

Commentary

Op-Ed: Vote yes in the May 18 referendum

• May 17, 2021

In the case of the term-limited Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, voters won’t have that opportunity. And after a year of his decisions leaving our state in disarray— with unemployed workers, struggling families, students locked out of the classroom, and entire industries trying to recover…

Commentary

Op-Ed: Uniform COVID-19 mandates caused major unforeseen consequences

• Tirzah Duren
• May 13, 2021

The policy response to the pandemic is focused on one crisis at the expense of two others: a nationwide mental health toll and a significant economic recession. And for some,…

Commentary

Op-Ed: Voters can restore checks and balances in Pa.

• Kevin Mooney
• May 12, 2021

On May 18, Pennsylvania voters will have the opportunity to overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that has enabled the governor to repeatedly extend emergency declarations without legislative input.

Commentary

Op-Ed: States rebel against governors’ arbitrary COVID-19 powers. Pennsylvania is the latest.

• Charles Mitchell
• May 12, 2021

Pennsylvanians continue to pay a steep price for Gov. Tom Wolf's lockdowns while the state ranks in the top 11 of coronavirus deaths per capita.

Commentary

Op-Ed: For real attacks on democracy, look to Pennsylvania

• Jennifer Stefano
• May 11, 2021

On May 18, two amendments will be on Pennsylvania’s primary ballot. One limits emergency declarations to 21 days and requires legislative approval for any extension. The other allows the legislature…

Commentary

Op-Ed: Leftists In Pennsylvania Outspent Conservatives 3 To 1 In 2020

• Kevin Mooney
• May 10, 2021

Very little of this money can be traced back to its original donors.

Commentary

Op-Ed: The Localist Legislator — Last Hope Of The Middle Class?

• Andrew Cuff
• May 10, 2021

With political courage and the support of the grassroots, state legislators can still do the hard work of governing.

Commentary

Op-Ed: Restore Accountability in Harrisburg by Voting “Yes” on May 18

• May 5, 2021

The Legislature, an elected body, has passed a constitutional amendment and submitted it to the people for ratification, as our constitution allows. It doesn’t get more democratic than that. Either…

Commentary

Op-Ed: School Closures Highlight The Need For Parental Choice

• Colleen Hroncich
• April 22, 2021

More affluent families have always had options — they can afford private schools or tutors as needed. Indeed, nothing illustrates the need for equity through school choice options more than…

Commentary

Op-Ed: Pennsylvania Governor’s Abuse of Emergency Powers Must End

• Kevin Mooney
• April 19, 2021

Keystone State citizens will have a chance to vote on ballot initiatives that would restrain Governor Wolf’s executive authority.

Commentary

Op-Ed: All or Nothing at All

• Charles F. McElwee
• April 15, 2021

Russell Shorto explores his family roots, the small-town mafia, and a unique period in postwar America.

Commentary

Op-Ed: Fight Against PA Guv’s Powers Reflects Bipartisan Trend

• Nathan Benefield
• April 15, 2021

The Pennsylvania General Assembly’s efforts to restrict Wolf’s emergency declaration – renewed four times – has reached its endgame in the form of two constitutional amendments in a statewide voter…

Commentary

Op-Ed: How cyber charter schools create new paths for teachers and students

• Kevin Mooney
• April 12, 2021

Robert Pratt is a sixth-grade science teacher at Agora Cyber Charter School. He explains why cyber charters have shown their value to students and teachers alike over the last year.

Commentary

Op-Ed: Society of Woke

• Michael Torres
• April 8, 2021

In Greater Philadelphia, Quaker schools betray their historical values.

Commentary

Op-Ed: How to Ease COVID-Era Education Battles: Fund Students

• Colleen Hroncich
• April 6, 2021

Children pay a high price for shutdowns. Supporting kids, not school systems, can help.

Commentary