Education
Federal Scholarship Tax Credit
Tens of thousands of kids wait-listed for Pennsylvania’s tax credit scholarship programs could receive scholarships under the new federal program. First-Ever Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program Last July, Congress passed…
Read More: Federal Scholarship Tax CreditPennsylvania’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 educational choice a reality for all Pennsylvania students.
Education
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…
Media
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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…
Media
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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…
Media
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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…
Media
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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…
Media
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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,…
Media
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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…
Media
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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…
Media
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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…
Media
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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…
Media
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Pittsburgh Teachers’ Strike Averted, but Transparency is Still Needed
After nearly nine months without a contract, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT) and Pittsburgh Public Schools have tentatively reached an agreement, which will stave off this Friday’s impending…
Media
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Philadelphia’s Soda Tax Falls Flat
Mayor Jim Kenney's administration has scaled back its pre-K program goals after Philadelphia's soda tax failed to meet revenue projections. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the city is reducing the…
Media
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Will Philly’s New School Board Welcome Choice?
Yesterday the Educational Nominating Panel for Philadelphia’s new school board voted to recommend board candidates to Mayor Kenney. Here is who made the list: Sarah-Ashley Andrews, Jenne Ayers,…
Media
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Education Spending Myths vs. Facts
In his recent budget address, Gov. Wolf continued to push the myth that the previous administration cut a billion dollars in state education spending and our schools remain underfunded.
Media
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School Choice Boosts Student Achievement Around the Globe
“Make every week school choice week.” This is the advice from the Cato Institute’s Corey DeAngelis as he explained the results of his recent study, The Public Benefit…
Media
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PA Schools Spend Far Above National Average
Pennsylvania ranks 9th in the country for per-student funding of public schools. School districts in the commonwealth receive, overall, $3,700 more per student than the national average. This data comes…
Media
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Top 10 Reasons to Support ESAs
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) are funding breakthroughs that refocus education spending where it should be: on students. ESAs place educational choice back into the hands of parents and families,…
Media
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The Invisible School District Income Tax
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a series of occasional blogs by a Philadelphia resident highlighting policy problems holding back the City of Brotherly Love. If a tree…
Media
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Transparency a Must for Philly School Board Nominations
“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” These words are as true today as…
Media
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