Education
Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocates
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer After a more than eight-year slog, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed what the Pennsylvania Constitution has said all…
Read More: Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocatesEducation is the first stepping-stone on the path to success, but Pennsylvania students face severe inequality among public school districts. Thousands who can’t afford private school are trapped in failing schools or situations that aren’t the right fit. The solution to this crisis is school choice. By offering families options outside their zip code-assigned district schools, students are better able to find their path to success. Charter schools, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts (ESAs), homeschooling, and other types of education choice must become a priority in Pennsylvania.
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Education
News Release: Pa. State Test Scores Confirm Decline in Student Learning
March 7, 2022, Harrisburg Pa. – After a multi-month delay, the Pennsylvania Department of Education released on Friday student test scores for the 2021 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment…
Press Release
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How Tax Credit Scholarships Empower Those Most in Need
Originally published in the Delaware Valley Journal Of all the school choice bills currently up for consideration in Pennsylvania, state Sen. Mike Regan’s proposed expansion of tax credit scholarships…
Media Hit
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Taxpayer-funded lobbyists block K-12 education reform
Originally published Broad + Liberty Pennsylvania parents who support school choice initiatives are financially supporting lobbying organizations that do not. That’s because their tax dollars provide school districts with…
Media Hit
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Exposing the truth about education funding
Originally posted at LancasterOnline Does more money improve student performance in our public schools? This question is at the heart of many policy debates in Harrisburg and is central…
Media Hit
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Opportunity Unleashed
Key Points In June 2019, Pennsylvania’s General Assembly expanded the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs by a combined $30 million. In the 2019-20…
Backgrounder
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Education Opportunity Accounts in Practice
Key Points Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs) are transformative, flexible-use accounts funded by state tax dollars.Program Administration: The Pennsylvania Treasury is the ideal administrator at the state level and may contract…
Backgrounder
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Catholic school parents, teachers challenge recruiting allegations in federal civil rights suit
Originally published at Broad + Liberty Parents and student wrestlers who engaged in school choice during the Covid-19 pandemic challenged recruiting allegations in federal court last week as part…
Media Hit
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Op-Ed: Chicago’s Lessons for Philadelphia Schools
Originally published in The Philadelphia Citizen At 8 years old, my Saturday haunt was the North Philadelphia Woolworths five and dime on 25th and Lehigh. I would prowl the…
Media Hit
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Pa. Senate Committee Passes School Choice Bill
January 19, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. — Today, the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee approved a bill to expand Pennsylvania’s successful and popular tax credit scholarship programs. SB 527, sponsored by Sen. Mike…
Press Release
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Commonwealth Foundation Files Amicus Brief in Education Funding Lawsuit
January 19, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. — The Commonwealth Foundation has filed an amicus brief in an ongoing lawsuit over how Pennsylvania funds public schools. The brief argues, contrary to the plaintiffs’ depiction,…
Press Release
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Op-Ed: School Choice Is the Fix for Pennsylvania’s Broken Education System
Pennsylvania’s public education system is broken, according to a lawyer in the historic education-funding lawsuit currently underway in the state’s Commonwealth Court.
Commentary
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Jennifer Stefano discussing Democrats’ expensive childcare plans on Fox Business
Commonwealth Foundation's Executive Vice President Jennifer Stefano discusses the Democrats' wrong-headed and pricey childcare policies on Fox Business.
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Op-Ed: Taxpayers Take School Board to Court for Trying to Silence Parents’ Criticism
The education bill is moving forward in Pennsylvania as a recent poll from Real Clear Opinion Research found that a strong majority of independents, Democrats, and Republicans say they support…
Commentary
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Concentrating Resources on Failing Systems Instead of Students
The 2021-22 budget has the largest state education funding increase in Pennsylvania history despite public schools receiving over $6.2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds. The funding increase includes a…
Fact Sheet
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School Funding Myth Busters
In the face of uncertainly due to COVID in 2020, state lawmakers flat-funded education for the 2020–21 school year. Districts also received about $6 billion in additional funding via three…
Fact Sheet
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Pennsylvania Public Schools? Pandemic Profits
Since the early months of the pandemic, Pennsylvania school district bureaucrats and lobbyists have demanded additional funding, ostensibly to cover increased costs. A February Commonwealth Foundation report tracked the…
Media
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Excellence in Education for All Act Summary
What is the Excellence in Education for All Act? The Excellence in Education for All Act (Senate Bill 1) is an exciting bill that seeks to ensure more Pennsylvania…
Fact Sheet
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Understanding Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs)
Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs) are publicly funded accounts that provide families with direct access to educational resources.
Commentary
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Are Pa. Public Schools Underfunded?
Pennsylvania spends more per student than the vast majority of states. Education spending has significantly increased over the past decade. Scroll down to see how much funding your district receives…
Fact Sheet
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The Truth About Education Spending in Pennsylvania
Ben Franklin once said, “in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” If he lived in Pennsylvania today, he might have an addition to his list: claims of…
Backgrounder
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Op-Ed: Pandemic Demonstrates the Value of Catholic Education
It’s tough to compete with “free” – even if your product is in high demand. That’s a lesson Catholic schools know well. In the past year, this point has been…
Commentary
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