Education
2025 State of Education Spending in Pennsylvania
Overview The national trends impacting education in Pennsylvania in 2025 include an impending fiscal cliff, under-enrolled schools, and population decline, all of which lead to school closures…
Read More: 2025 State of Education Spending in PennsylvaniaPennsylvania’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
Pa. House Passes Lifeline Scholarship Bill
April 27, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. — Today, the Pennsylvania House passed a bill to offer Lifeline Scholarships to students in underperforming school districts. House Bill 2169, sponsored by Reps.
Press Release
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Our students need a ‘lifeline’ and HB 2169 is it
Originally published in the Bucks County Courier Times This month, the Pennsylvania House has been abuzz with anticipation of a vote on Lifeline Scholarship Program, or …
Media Hit
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Special interests drive up education spending but hurt students and teachers
Originally published in The Mercury News Last month, after many delays, the Pennsylvania Department of Education released academic assessment results for 2021. The results were startling: over 47 percent…
Media Hit
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Gov. Wolf Should Pick the Side of Students
Originally published in The Philadelphia Citizen All students—regardless of their race, sex, or birthplace—deserve the opportunity to succeed. They deserve education choices. But school boards—and most recently, Gov. Tom…
Media Hit
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An answer for the way COVID put our children behind
Originally published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Maria Elizabeth had to make a hard choice: send her son to a failing school in Clairton or get a second job selling…
Media Hit
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Pa. House Committee Passes Student Scholarship Bill
March 29, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. — Today, the Pennsylvania House Education Committee approved a bill to offer Lifeline Scholarships to students in underperforming school districts. HB 2169, sponsored by…
Press Release
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Gov. Wolf Acts Unilaterally to Stifle Charter Schools
March 22, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. — On Monday, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approved Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed regulations for Pennsylvania charter schools. The governor pushed the new…
Press Release
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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.
Media
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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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