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
Penn State Professor Feeling the (Metaphorical) Heat
Following the Commonwealth Foundation’s call for a legislative inquiry into use of tax dollars to stifle, rather than foster, scientific inquiry in the case of Penn State professor Michael…
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Pittsburgh Tuition Tax Podcast
Elizabeth Bryan and I discuss the proposed tuition tax in Pittsburgh in a podcast. Joining us for part of the conversation is Aaron Gross, a student…
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Penn State to Launch Inquiry in “Climategate”
Penn State University is going to “look into” the emails from and about university professor Michael Mann, which indicate, among other things,…
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Taxing Tuition: The Future of Higher Education?
With Pittsburgh on the brink of bankruptcy thanks to its continual out-of-control spending, Mayor Ravenstahl and his allies on City Council have hatched a new scheme to collect more money…
Commentary
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Teacher Merit Pay May Come to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh City Schools may soon finalize their second huge grant. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is granting the system $40 million over 6 and half years to improve…
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Taxing Students For Past Mistakes
Pittsburgh’s financial problems are such that it gave rise to the Intergovermental Cooperation Authority(ICA) – formed by none other than, perennially in-deficit Governor, Ed Rendell. The ICA was put…
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CF Facts Irk Governor Rendell
Normally I don’t respond to allegations of untrue research, but I feel compelled to do so because it is the Governor of Pennsylvania. I am not sure what the…
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Privatizing School Bus Drivers
In last Tuesday’s race for Central Dauphin school board candidates clashed over the privatization of the district’s busing. The pro-privatization candidate- Chris Judd narrowly won, but that hasn’t silenced the…
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Privatizing State Universities
In wake of a state budget crisis and a temporary infusion of stimulus funds, Colorado State University is considering a partial privatization of the public university. By 2011, it will…
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Despite Recession, Pennsylvania College Costs Increase
On Tuesday, the College Board released their annual report on tuition and financial aid. Despite a national recession, college tuition is still rising at an alarming pace. On average,…
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Misguided Efforts Fail to Make College More Affordable
Gubernatorial hopeful Jack Wagner pledged to start a scholarship program to help students who decide to stay in Pennsylvania to attend college. The proposed HOPE (Helping Our Pupils to…
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Is Preschool for All a Good Idea?
Chester Finn of the Fordham Foundation has a good article in the latest Education Next on the movement for “preschool for all.” Finn is generally supportive of government…
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Conservative College Professors: An Endangered Species
Robert Maranto, a former professor of political science at Villanova, recently published a new book through AEI Press, The Politically Correct University, which highlights the scarcity of conservative and…
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Charter School Students Outperform Peers
The results of a recent study by a Stanford economist strengthens the case for charter schools by debunking the myth that charter school student outperform traditional students because…
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Calls to Action on Protecting School Choice in Pennsylvania
As reported earlier, the tax bill put out by Pennsylvania House Democrats would cut the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit by…
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Is Gov. Rendell “for the Kids” at All?
On Friday, the REACH Foundation hosted a rally at the state capitol in defense of Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit, which…
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Will Lawmakers Put Hollywood Before School Children?
Governor Rendell and three legislative caucuses are kicking low-income children out of their classrooms to fund handout to Big Hollywood studios. This is beyond bad policy – it’s blatant…
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Reform, Not More Spending, Key to College Affordability
This year's budget debate has generated several silly schemes, including a few related to higher education funding. But Gov. Rendell's proposed video poker tax and House Democrats' ploy to move university appropriations off-budget do…
Commentary
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Government Takeover: The Student Loan Industry
Last week the US House voted to prohibit private lenders from issuing government backed loans. The bill amounts to a government takeover of the student loan industry complete with…
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America’s Troubling College Graduation Rate
A recent study from AEI compares graduation and drop-out rates among American colleges and finds a disturbing trend. Colleges are graduating less than 60% of their student…
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State-Run Preschool Doesn’t Make the Grade
Cato has a new policy report, as well as a recent blog post which sums up the arguments, on why large-scale government preschool programs are not what…
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