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
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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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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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
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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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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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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 SenateCriminal Justice Reform
Four Ways Lawmakers Are Setting Up Pa. For Success
Freedom and opportunity are on the move in the Keystone State. In the past week, lawmakers have taken four serious strides for the families and business owners of Pennsylvania. We’re…
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How Low-Income Students Benefit from Education Tax Credits
Yesterday, the House Education Committee advanced legislation to expand Pennsylvania’s successful tax credit scholarship program. HB 800, sponsored by Speaker Mike Turzai, would increase the Educational Improvement Tax Credit…
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Is Pennsylvania Poised For a Giant Leap in Student Opportunity?
For kids who need a choice and a chance, help may be on the way. In Tennessee, both chambers of the state legislature passed Education Scholarship Account (ESA)…
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Future Ready Index: A Tool That Can’t Be Used
The Data Quality Campaign recently released “Show Me the Data,” a comparison of state report cards in which Pennsylvania’s new Future Ready PA Index fared well. Released…
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Florida Scholarship Program Boosts College Enrollment, Graduation
Getting into college isn’t easy. It takes grit, good grades, and for some? Bribes. Across the nation, celebrities are being indicted for participating in a bribery scheme to get their…
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Gov. Wolf Blinded to Benefits of School Choice
Gov. Wolf’s 2019 budget promotes public and private options for pre-K and post-secondary education. He calls Pennsylvania’s post-secondary institutions “laboratories for innovation.” Most remarkably, the governor touts Pennsylvania Higher…
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Fight for Education Equality Marches On
Education equality has been the civil rights issue during each unique chapter in America’s story—including today. Empowering parents with school choice options is a key step along our march for justice.
Commentary
Read More: Fight for Education Equality Marches OnCriminal Justice Reform
Fighting Poverty can be a Bipartisan Effort
Here's a letter I submitted to the Philadelphia Daily News on how Pennsylvanians of any ideology can share good intent, and work toward a common goal. I was disappointed…
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Expand Educational Choice with Tax Credit Scholarships
In 2016-17, the most recent year with scholarship data available, 52,857 K-12 scholarship applications were denied—52 percent of all K-12 applications. Businesses have applied for $180 million in EITC and…
Fact Sheet
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New Workforce Skills Won’t Come from an Outdated Education System
In his budget address earlier this year, Gov. Wolf cited “workforce concerns” as the reason Amazon rejected Philadelphia for its new headquarters—despite Pennsylvania offering a $4.6 billion dollar…
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Time to Start Treating Philly Charter Families Like First Class Citizens
Our children deserve the best, most individually-tailored education available. Sadly, most students in urban districts cannot access educational opportunities. It's a paradox: Pennsylvania schools are receiving more funds than ever—ranking…
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Military ESAs an Important Part of any Education Plan for Servicemembers
Last month, Governor Wolf introduced a proposal to offer college benefits for families of Pa. National Guard members—like a GI Bill for Pennsylvania. He intends his plan to “show that we…
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Economic Growth or Education OpportunityWhy not Both
In a recent Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed, Mark Gleason explains that growing the economy and expanding educational opportunity are complementary, not competing goals: When it comes to preparing our children…
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Milwaukee Study: School Choice Linked to Fewer Broken Families, Convictions
Former Pennsylvania Secretary of Public Welfare Helen O’Bannon once lamented “the family breaking up” as the root cause of an “untrained, unskilled” workforce, which increases “single, female heads of…
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Philadelphia Parents Rally for Opportunity Scholarships
Last week, Philadelphia parents and community leaders gathered in support of the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program. The event was sponsored by Educational Opportunities for Families (EOF) and…
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