Education
Pa. Senate Committee Advances Lifeline Scholarships for Students in Failing Schools
Harrisburg, Pa., May 7, 2024 — Today, the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee advanced Senate Bill (SB) 795, a bill to establish Lifeline Scholarships for children in failing schools. Sponsored by state…
Read More: Pa. Senate Committee Advances Lifeline Scholarships for Students in Failing SchoolsPennsylvania’s future is in the hands of the next generation. Parents and students—not activist agendas—should drive the Commonwealth’s education policy. While policymakers have been entrusted with ensuring the next generation receives a quality education, parents should be empowered to choose the quality education that meets their unique child’s needs. Charter schools and tax credit scholarships are integral pieces of school choice, but more reforms are needed to make school choice a reality for all Pennsylvania students.
Education
New School Choice Legislation Introduced in PA Senate
Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) introduced Senate Bill 1405, the Opportunity Scholarship Act, last month with three Republican co-sponsors. This legislation represent a huge opportunity to increase parental choice in…
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Unethical Philly Superintendent Leeching Taxpayers Dry
Last school year, taxpayers gave Philadelphia School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman $65,000 (in addition to her salary of $325,000, which could be close to $500,000 next year). But…
Media
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Will Increased Education Funding Solve Our Problems?
Recently, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a budget for FY 2011. Governor Rendell praised the budget for increasing education funding by $250 million. But is increased funding for our schools…
Media
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Penn State Clears “Award-Winning” Mann in Climategate
Unsurprisingly, Penn State’s second investigation into its own faculty member, Michael Mann, cleared him of any scientific misconduct charges today. Among the reasons for clearing Mann, the report notes:…
Media
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Politics Making a Mess of Education
It appears Gov. Rendell has succeeded in getting an increase in education spending for the FY 2010-11 budget. Despite the fact that enrollment is down across the Commonwealth…
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Pennsylvania Education Spending
Pennsylvania's education spending increased from $4 billion in 1980 to over $25 billion in 2009-a 133% increase in per-pupil spending, after adjusting for inflation. School construction and debt spending has…
Fact Sheet
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House Passes Special Ed “Reform”
Yesterday, without much press, the Pennsylvania House passed special education funding reforms that attempt to improve the effectiveness of special ed funding. Rep. Sturla’s bill would adjust the funding…
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DC Vouchers Boost High School Graduation Rates
University of Arkansas professor Patrick Wolf recently concluded a study of the voucher program in D.C. The study concludes that this simple, six-year program was able to increase graduation…
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A Taxpayer’s Budget 2010: Responsible Spending for Pennsylvania
A Taxpayer's Budget 2010: Responsible Spending for Pennsylvania identifies opportunities to cut over $4 billion in wasteful state spending in Gov. Rendell's proposed FY 2010-11 budget. The report also offers…
Report
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The True Beneficiaries of Education Subsidies
Gov. Rendell's budget once again demands significant increases in public school spending. Ostensibly, these increases are "for the children," but a close examination of education spending and policy proposals reveals…
Commentary
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Government Preschool Delivers Few Results
State Sen. Pat Browne is quoted on John Micek’s blog Wednesday, citing an oft-repeated claim that government funding for preschool is one of the “best investments” of taxpayer money:…
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Monitoring Charter Schools
Last month, PA Independent highlighted Senate Bill 1156, which would create a committee to monitor Pennsylvania charter schools. This was in response to the mismanagement of a number of…
Media
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PA School Districts Have $2.5 Billion in Reserves
PA Independent highlights the $2.5 billion school districts have in reserve accounts – $1.8 billion in “undesignated reserves.” To put that it lay terms – it’s a lot of…
Media
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Celebrating School Choice
Yesterday the REACH Alliance held the 9th annual birthday party for Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit – see story here – in which hundreds of students and parents showed…
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Some Educating Research on Education
I’m a little behind on my reading – hence I am going through two editions of the quarterly journal Education Next. Nonetheless, there are a number of interesting and informative…
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Are Pittsburgh Public Schools Among the Nation’s Best?
A recent national ranking said the Pittsburgh Public Schools were 7th best among large cities in the nation. (HT Grassroots PA). This was quite surprising, as the Pittsburgh…
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Cyber School Stardom
Participating in PA Cyber Charter School won’t guarantee a student’s stardom but it did make it possible for Aaron Kelly, an 2010 American Idol finalist. Kelly, a 17 year…
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PA Public School Staff Grows As Enrollment Declines
Despite stagnation in qualitative measures of school performance, cries for additional spending in public schools have not subsided. In fact, Gov. Rendell says…
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Race to the Bottom
Is a lack of funding the problem with Pennsylvania’s education system? Lincoln Institute’s Lowman Henry answers this question with a resounding no, in his recent article, Race to the…
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Ten Tips to Balance the Budget
Contrary to Gov. Rendell's rhetoric, there are a plethora of reforms and cuts that can balance the budget without taking more from the pockets of Pennsylvania taxpayers. Here are ten…
Commentary
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Gov. Rendell Learned His Lesson
Last year, Gov. Rendell went on a bus tour across Pennsylvania, at taxpayer expense, to lobby for more education spending. Rendell was…
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