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Education
Wall Street Journal Editorial: A School Choice Revival in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania students trapped in the state’s worst-performing schools have another opportunity for scholarships following Gov. Josh Shapiro’s reversal of his previous stance and veto of bipartisan budget legislation last year.
Read More: Wall Street Journal Editorial: A School Choice Revival in PennsylvaniaEnergy
Commonwealth Foundation Applauds Senate’s Passage of Historic Tax Cuts
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Applauds Senate’s Passage of Historic Tax CutsEducation
Pa. Senate Committee Advances Lifeline Scholarships for Students in Failing Schools
Read More: Pa. Senate Committee Advances Lifeline Scholarships for Students in Failing SchoolsPublic Union Democracy
Why have teacher salaries become stagnant?
Read More: Why have teacher salaries become stagnant?Taxes & Economy
The Truth About Wages
There is one undoubted truth in debates about wages: everyone wants them to go up. Unfortunately, lawmakers can’t force everyone’s wage to increase, unless they are willing to destroy tens…
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Read More: The Truth About WagesEducation
Thousands of Scholarship Applications Denied, Again
Pennsylvania's tax credit scholarship programs, EITC (Education Improvement Tax Credit) and OSTC (Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit), have transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of students with a private education that…
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Read More: Thousands of Scholarship Applications Denied, AgainGovernment Accountability
The Shadow Budget Comes to Light
The shadow budget is coming into the light in an unlikely way this…
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Pa. Senate Passes Momentous Criminal Justice Reform Package
June 5, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, in a unanimous vote, the Pennsylvania Senate continued the state’s national leadership on criminal justice reform by passing a three-bill reform package. These critical reforms…
Press Release
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Senate Committees Pass State Spending Limits & School Choice Bills
June 5, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, the state Senate advanced two transformative bills: SB 116, known as the Taxpayer Protection Act, limits state spending growth to a rate Pennsylvanians can…
Press Release
Read More: Senate Committees Pass State Spending Limits & School Choice BillsGovernment Accountability
Transparency Deferred During Union Contract Negotiations
Public dollars, secrecy, and politics should never mix. Yet, it’s a disturbingly common practice in Pennsylvania as public officials negotiate costly government employee contracts with their campaign donors—behind closed…
Media
Read More: Transparency Deferred During Union Contract NegotiationsState Budget
Harrisburg’s Notoriously Big Choice
“More money, more problems.” It seems that Pennsylvania lawmakers and The Notorious B.I.G. may have found some common ground. Surplus revenues have been a hot topic since the Independent Fiscal…
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Read More: Harrisburg’s Notoriously Big ChoiceEducation
Safer Public Schools: Another Benefit of Education Choice
When parents are forced to choose between safety and academics, parents overwhelmingly choose safety. That's a choice no parent should have to make, but that's the reality for Philadelphia families…
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Read More: Safer Public Schools: Another Benefit of Education ChoiceState Budget
High Taxes Are Driving Pa.’s ‘Brain Drain’
If life is a highway, then Pennsylvanians are using it to drive to other states. This is especially true for young Pennsylvanians…
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Read More: High Taxes Are Driving Pa.’s ‘Brain Drain’Public Union Democracy
Employee Rights Notification Becomes Imperative Following New Court Ruling
Laws contradicting U.S. Supreme Court decisions should be removed from the books, or at least that’s what Pennsylvania teachers Greg Hartnett, Elizabeth Galaska, Rob Brough, and John Cress rationally argued…
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Read More: Employee Rights Notification Becomes Imperative Following New Court RulingState Budget
Federal Tax Reform: A Pennsylvania Gold Rush
After centuries of hopeless panning and prospecting, gold has finally been discovered right here in Harrisburg. The historic find weighs in…
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Read More: Federal Tax Reform: A Pennsylvania Gold RushCriminal Justice Reform
Up, Up, and Away: Snapshots from Wolf’s Budget
Soon lawmakers in Harrisburg will begin debating the 2019-2020 budget and what to do with excess revenue from the booming economy. Here’s your two-minute summary of the budget situation and…
Media
Read More: Up, Up, and Away: Snapshots from Wolf’s BudgetEducation
The Many Benefits of Tax Credit Scholarships
The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) empower thousands of students with a high-quality education of their choice each year—and at a fraction of the…
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Read More: The Many Benefits of Tax Credit ScholarshipsEducation
Are Pennsylvania Leaders Out of Touch?
When asked whether Philadelphia needs “more, fewer, or the same number of charter schools,” Mayor Jim Kenney responded, “Fewer.” It’s a baffling answer, considering his city’s educational landscape. Just…
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Read More: Are Pennsylvania Leaders Out of Touch?Criminal Justice Reform
Should Pa. Wreck Lives Over a Technicality?
Pennsylvania’s correctional system has a “revolving door” problem. Over 63 percent of the correctional population will return to prison within three years. To change Pennsylvania’s reputation as “imprisonment king”…
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Read More: Should Pa. Wreck Lives Over a Technicality?Education
School Districts’ Cash Stash Tops $4.6 Billion
May 16, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts hold $4.6 billion in reserve funds, according the latest data available from the Pa. Department of Education. Reserves rose by $64 million in…
Press Release
Read More: School Districts’ Cash Stash Tops $4.6 BillionEducation
Guest Post: Educational Freedom in Harrisburg
Rian Slade-Bowers' testimonial was first published by American Federation for Children. I attended private schools all my life and it has benefited me immensely. I was educated in a diverse environment…
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Read More: Guest Post: Educational Freedom in HarrisburgPublic Union Democracy
Pa. Attorney General Agrees: Workers Should Know Their Rights
Attorney General Josh Shapiro recently demonstrated why Pennsylvania government workers need the Employee Rights Notification Act (House Bill 785 and Senate Bill 371). In a tweet, Shapiro…
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Read More: Pa. Attorney General Agrees: Workers Should Know Their RightsEducation
How to End Waiting Lists for Opportunity
Did 20 years of government initiatives improve public schools? A recent American Enterprise Institute report finds all the money poured into efforts like No Child Left Behind and Race to…
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Read More: How to End Waiting Lists for OpportunityEducation
House Sends Major School Choice Expansion Bill to Senate
May 7, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa.—Today, in a bipartisan vote, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed HB 800, a school choice bill that promises opportunity to thousands of students trapped…
Press Release
Read More: House Sends Major School Choice Expansion Bill to Senate
5 Reasons to Expand EITC and OSTC
House lawmakers just voted for an urgently needed expansion of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit. Here are five reasons state senators should support raising the limits on this important program as…
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Read More: 5 Reasons to Expand EITC and OSTC