School Choice is Hanging in the Balance
The tale of two Pennsylvania Democratic Parties. Traditional: based in its history of focusing on policies to create opportunities to lift-up poor and working class families. The 21st century version: advancing “elite” ideology, giving power to allies and donors to advance cult causes. Shipping taxpayer money to people harmed by their policies as compensation.
Old-school (1990’s): School choice to empower parents, ensure that all families have good school options and rescue students from failing schools. Versus today’s “progressives:” Doing the bidding of the teachers union to secure donations and activists — crushing competition at the expense of students.
But each state must opt-in to participate. Just thirteen states have yet to decide, including Pennsylvania (and not surprisingly, the other presidential wannabe governors — Newsom, Pritzker, and Moore). Shapiro — ever the chameleon, the fence-straddler — may/may not “want to” opt-in. He doesn’t want to offend the teachers unions.
The new federal tax credit is based on Pennsylvania’s 25-year-old tuition-assistance scholarship program. This year, over 101,000 Pennsylvania students received tuition-assistance, through the charity of taxpayers — not one taxpayer dollar. However, over 80,000 applicants didn’t receive assistance, because the money ran out. The new federal program would encourage donors to close that gap — eliminating the waiting list.
What’s interesting is not merely that Williams felt compelled to lobby Shapiro publicly. What’s really interesting is that just as Williams was encouraging expanded school choice, Pennsylvania House Democratic leaders unveiled a bill to gut punch parents: cutting funding to our scholarship program; and kicking out some current student scholarship recipients from the program. Why? Because they’re “rich.” Nurses, police officers, building trade members would be considered “too rich” to merit tuition assistance.
Just as Democratic House leaders launched a “shot” at school choice — cutting scholarships — they released a companion bill — the “chaser.” Legislation to cut funding to charter schools and for the third year in a row, cutting cyber charter school students’ funding.
Full attacks on school choice. Taking power from parents. Possibly forcing successful schools to close, sending students back to district schools they left — that were failing them. Preserving school choice for the rich and politically connected, while taking it from poor and working-class families.
Anti-American Dream bills.
Shapiro and Democratic Party leadership’s assault on school choice was not always a given. Today, the teachers unions — one of the largest shareholders of the Democratic Party — demand opposition.
Candidate Shapiro — who sends his children to a Jewish Day School — campaigned as a school choice supporter. Newly elected, Shapiro told a national audience: “every child of God deserves the chance to succeed…” Yet, he vetoed the bill. Democrats blocking the school house door, again.
But school choice wasn’t always partisan in Pennsylvania.
In 2001, when Republican Governor Tom Ridge signed Pennsylvania’s education tax credit law, it passed the Pennsylvania House with overwhelming bipartisan support: 135-64, including the votes of then-State Representatives Tony Williams and (now Congressman) Dwight Evans.
Moreover, that wasn’t the only school choice bill to have bipartisan support.
Charter Schools were signed into law in 1997 with an almost unheard of level of bipartisanship 182-16. Similarly, for “online” Cyber Charter Schools: 135-66.
The bipartisan goals were to empower parents, offer options for different types of schools, develop transformational learning, encourage competition, and rescue children trapped in failing schools.
Sadly, things changed. Tragically, political support from Democratic politicians began to fade — not for their kids, but for poor and working class families. Those kids are supposed to stay behind in district-run schools — while politicians figure out how to fix them.
Senator Williams is not alone in his fight. Former Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Jorge Elorza — the CEO of Democrats for Education Reform — has dedicated himself to school choice. He’s criss-crossing America, meeting with his fellow Democrats and writing columns — urging Governor Shapiro and fellow Democrats to opt-in to the federal education scholarship program.
Elorza writes: “At some point, the gap between how policymakers view the issue and how families experience it demands a reckoning. Democrats should focus less on defending what exists and more on exploring what could be.”
Yet, Shapiro’s Lt. Governor, Austin Davis, repeatedly tweets the voice of “progressives” — purposely antagonizing school choice supporters, using our rhetoric to virtue-signal: “All Pennsylvanians should have the opportunity to live their American dream, regardless of their zip code.”
Sure, Austin. Unless, you’re a poor or working-class family whose neighborhood public school is an academic or safety nightmare. Then, you’re stuck.
Pennsylvania Democrats: return to your roots. Head the call of Senator Williams: “We should do right by Pennsylvania’s children.”
Guy Ciarrocchi is a Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation. He writes for Broad + Liberty and RealClear Pennsylvania. Follow Guy at @PhilaFreedomGuy.
