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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The Truth about Education Spending in PA
Data from Pennsylvania's Department of Education refute the persistent myth that Pennsylvania public schools are underfunded. See the charts below for 2016-17 statistics on school spending, an update on where Pa.
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Education Choice Saves Tax Dollars
Transparency in education funding and charter school reform are good ideas, yet this push for reform is being used to spread misinformation about educational opportunities. Namely, the idea that…
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Tax Credit Scholarships: Pennsylvania is Falling Behind
Tax credit scholarships are one of the fastest growing school choice options. These programs allow businesses or individuals to receive a tax credit for donations to approved K-12 scholarship…
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Senate Committee Passes Major Education Reform Bill
Every student deserves an education that best fits his or her unique needs. But this vision of education equality is beyond the reach of thousands of Pennsylvania families. That’s why…
Press Release
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Pittsburgh School District Rescinds Performance-Based Pay
In 2009, the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) utilized a $40 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to implement a comprehensive new K-12 education program. The program, known…
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Time to Let Fair Funding Work
A recent Philadelphia Inquirer editorial on school funding gets it partly right, but partly wrong. They challenge the fact that Pennsylvania spends $3,800 more per student than the national…
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Nine Irrefutable Facts About Education Savings Accounts
Children deserve an education that fits their unique needs. It’s time to bring education savings accounts to Pennsylvania and make that dream a reality. How do they work? Is there…
Memo
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Election Results Shouldn’t Detract Attention From Real Reforms
Pennsylvania’s primary election results are sure to command a lot of attention this week, as analysts attempt to explain what the outcomes mean for November. One thing is certain: Many new…
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Upward Trend in School District Reserve Funds Continues
Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (PDE) released their 2016-17 financial reports less than a week after opponents of education choice for children loudly proclaimed that the sky is falling,…
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Education Tax Credit Escalator Basics
The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs have offered a lifeline to Pennsylvania students, delivering more than 570,000 scholarships since the programs began. Last…
Memo
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Students Harmed when Scholarships are Politicized
Bill Blum, Director of Finance at Kennedy Catholic High School (KCHS) in Hermitage, witnesses the power of education choice every day. But he’s also seen the suffering caused when these…
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Teacher Strike Capitol of America
Pennsylvania is the teacher strike capital of America. Since 1999, Pennsylvania families have suffered through 131 strikes, affecting 300,000 students and causing 1,383 missed school days. This research, including county,…
Press Release
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Answering Questions About ESAs
Education Savings Accounts (ESA) allow parents to customize and personalize their child's education. With an ESA, parents withdraw their child from the local public school and instead receive money from…
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Empowering Parents of Students with Special Needs
Friends thought Dorothy Famiano was nuts when she decided to adopt two toddlers with special needs. She didn’t listen to the naysayers. Today Nicholas, who is confined to a…
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Taxpayer Funds Used to Lobby Against Educational Choice
All Pennsylvania students deserve quality educations. For kids with unmet educational needs, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) provide access to the opportunities many of their peers already enjoy. Yet, instead…
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Philly Exodus Spells the Need for School Choice
Philadelphia’s population is growing. In fact, Philly’s population has grown for 11 consecutive years according to the U.S. Census Bureau and highlighted recently in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Population growth…
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Are ESAs Coming to Connecticut?
Is a popular school choice program poised for another expansion? Following New Hampshire's lead, Connecticut is the latest New England state to entertain the notion of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Connecticut,…
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Scholarship Tax Credits
Ziva loves school. Yet just a year ago, it was a different story. According to her mother, Jesica, Ziva’s first grade teacher had given up on little Ziva, claiming the…
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Some Clarity on Education Savings Accounts
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) continues to repeat common misconceptions about Education Savings Account (ESA) programs. Here are six facts to dispel their fallacies. 1. School Choice Improves Academic…
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The Reality of PA School Spending
The debate over education funding has found its way into the courts. Several school districts and residents are suing the state to fix an allegedly “unfair, inadequate and unconstitutional” school…
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Education Choice Boosts Higher Ed Enrollment
Recent studies on voucher programs in Milwaukee, Washington, DC, and Florida once again demonstrate education choice benefits families and taxpayers. Milwaukee A longitudinal study—which tracks individual students over long…
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