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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…
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Education
Shadow School Choice: When Public Schools Turn Students Away
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Energy
IFO Data Shows Pennsylvania’s Emissions Success Story
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State Budget
Deficit Watch: March 2025
Background Pennsylvania faces serious fiscal challenges. The enacted 2024–25 General Fund budget created a $3.6 billion structural deficit. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025–26 budget…
Deficit Watch
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Record Tax Credit Scholarship Waiting List Shows Growing Demand for Education Options
Summary Pennsylvania scholarship organizations awarded a record 85,570 K–12 scholarships through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) in the 2022-23 school year. The average…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Record Tax Credit Scholarship Waiting List Shows Growing Demand for Education OptionsState Budget
Optimizing State Spending
Summary Pennsylvania faces a $3.6 billion structural budget deficit in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024–25. The Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) calculates Gov. Josh Shapiro’s FY 2025–26 budget…
Fact Sheet
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Pennsylvania Public Schools: Nation’s Report Card 2024
Summary Despite $4.1 billion in education funding increases over the last four years, Pennsylvania Public Schools did not rank in the top 10 for any category…
Fact Sheet
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Deficit Watch: February 2025
Background Pennsylvania faces serious fiscal challenges. The enacted 2024–25 General Fund budget created a $3.6 billion structural deficit, with $47.6 billion in spending and only $43.9 billion in net…
Deficit Watch
Read More: Deficit Watch: February 2025Education
Governor Shapiro’s 2025 Budget Proposal: An Extreme Spending Binge
Overview Gov. Josh Shapiro’s radical overspending exacerbates what is already a massive budget deficit. His plan imposes new taxes this year and will force extreme tax hikes on working families…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Governor Shapiro’s 2025 Budget Proposal: An Extreme Spending BingeProsperity
How to Balance the PA State Budget
Key Points Pennsylvania faces a $3.6 billion structural deficit in fiscal year (FY) 2024–25. Unless addressed, the deficit will require massive tax increases on working families by next year. Extreme…
Backgrounder
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RGGI Is a Destructive Policy for Pennsylvania
Overview The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a multi-state cap-and-trade program that imposes a carbon tax on power generators, resulting in a new, economy-wide energy…
Fact Sheet
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The Rainy Day Fund
Summary The Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund, commonly referred to as the Rainy Day Fund, is Pennsylvania’s largest budgetary reserve fund. Pennsylvania law dictates that lawmakers may only draw from the…
Fact Sheet
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Deficit Watch: January 2025
Background Pennsylvania faces serious fiscal challenges. The enacted 2024–25 General Fund budget created a $3.6 billion structural deficit, with $47.6 billion in spending and only $43.9 billion in net…
Deficit Watch
Read More: Deficit Watch: January 2025Energy
State of RGGI: Past, Present, and Future
Key Points The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a multi-state cap-and-trade program that imposes a carbon tax on power generators, resulting in a new, economy-wide energy tax. Pennsylvania entered…
Backgrounder
Read More: State of RGGI: Past, Present, and FutureFairness
Election Reform in Pennsylvania
Summary Ahead of the 2020 election, Pennsylvania allowed no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time. Officials overwhelmed with millions of ballot requests, last-minute state guidance, and litigation resulted in delayed…
Fact Sheet
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EITC and Economically Disadvantaged Schools
Summary The Economically Disadvantaged School component of the EITC provides supplementary scholarships for Pennsylvania students receiving scholarships and attending private schools with the greatest financial need. These supplementary scholarships for…
Fact Sheet
Read More: EITC and Economically Disadvantaged SchoolsState Budget
Pennsylvania’s Looming Budget Challenges
Summary Pennsylvania’s fiscal year (FY) 2024–25 state budget has created a $3.6 billion structural budget deficit. Without a major shift in direction, this deficit will persist and grow in future…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Looming Budget ChallengesState Budget
The Taxpayer Protection Act
Summary Pennsylvania faces a $3.6 billion structural deficit that will force lawmakers to cut spending or increase taxes. State spending growth far outpaces inflation, population growth, and economic growth. This…
Fact Sheet
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Pa. Tax Credit Scholarships 101
Overview: Tax Credit Scholarship Programs Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) are state tax credit programs that provide students access to high-quality schools of…
Fact Sheet
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EITC Private School Tuition
Simple Tuition Solutions Simple Tuition Solutions (STS) processed scholarship applications for students attending 130 different private schools in 2023–24. The median tuition charge, of the 106 schools with tuition rates…
Fact Sheet
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EITC: Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Archdiocese of Philadelphia (AOP) serves the five-county Philadelphia region—Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. AOP provides EITC and OSTC scholarships to an economically and racially…
Fact Sheet
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EITC Student Economic Data
Summary While no state agency collects comprehensive information regarding scholarship students’ family income or demographics, this report compiles data from scholarship providers and financial services providers to provide details about…
Fact Sheet
Read More: EITC Student Economic DataRegulation
Prevailing Wage in Pennsylvania
Summary Prevailing wage law dictates the minimum wage rates paid to workers on public construction projects if the project’s estimated costs exceed a certain threshold. Pennsylvania’s threshold for prevailing wage…
Fact Sheet
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