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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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Public Union Democracy
Protecting Public Employees’ Personal Information
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Health Care
How to Help Pennsylvanians Prosper with Medicaid and SNAP Reform
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Shadow School Choice: When Public Schools Turn Students Away
Summary The School District of Philadelphia outsources special education to private schools when the district is unable to meet the student’s special education needs. The U.S. Department of Education guarantees…
Fact Sheet
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IFO Data Shows Pennsylvania’s Emissions Success Story
The Keystone State is lowering emissions and generating more energy without RGGI or PACER taxes. Overview The Keystone State cut total emissions while increasing electricity generation, according to the two…
Fact Sheet
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Pennsylvania Education Myths
Summary Conversations about education in Pennsylvania are fraught with myths, including the notions that Pennsylvania public schools remain underfunded, nonpublic options and school choice programs lack accountability, private schools only…
Fact Sheet
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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
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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
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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
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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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