Pennsylvania could become the next epicenter for school choice with a proposal that responds to pandemic learning gaps. The state legislation would create “Education Opportunity Accounts” for students who face specific challenges. These accounts would return tax dollars to families for educational expenses, including books, tutoring, or private school tuition.
If passed, the reform would increase Pennsylvania’s current tax credit scholarship programs, allow independent authorization of charter schools, remove ZIP code restrictions on public school enrollment, and protect parents who create learning pods of small groups of students who learn at home from burdensome regulations. By far, this is the most ambitious school choice reform initiative in the Keystone State’s history.
The bill has inevitably drawn the ire of the teachers unions. Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, described EOAs as “vouchers by another name” that “cause irreparable harm to public education and the students they are charged with educating.” His union and the Pennsylvania State Education Association form the staunchest opposition to school choice.
But lawmakers who support the bill say the move to a student-based education system is long overdue.
“My challenge to any opponent of this bill is to give me one valid argument that is not focused solely on the institutions and is instead focused on the kids and families,” said state Rep. Andrew Lewis, the lead House sponsor.
If the legislation advances through the General Assembly, it will likely inspire action in other states.
“What happens in Pennsylvania could cut across state lines,” said Colleen Hroncich, a senior policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation. “More parents across the country are seeing that the unions have too much power and that they have too little say.”
Last year, Hroncich offered testimony on behalf of a previous school choice bill, known as “Back on Track,” that would have created EOA-like programs for low-income families using CARES Act funding. Approximately 600,000 Pennsylvania children would have qualified for the reform.
“What we saw from Back on Track is that unions will oppose any school choice initiative every single time,” Hroncich said. “But it’s an odd messaging tactic they use. They will say people don’t want to leave public schools, but then they say giving people an option will destroy public schools and that if families have options, they will leave.”
State Rep. Clint Owlett, the lead sponsor of the Back on Track legislation, advised his colleagues to steel themselves for a tough fight and to be on guard for misinformation campaigns.
“Unions have no problem mischaracterizing what something is and calling it something that it’s not,” he said. “But ultimately, we have the winning the argument. We know students are struggling, and this bill gave us an opportunity to talk about the challenges our students are facing.”
Unions’ strongest “arguments” come in the form of lobbying dollars. The PSEA’s political action committee spent more than $1.17 million on political races in 2020 and has spent more than $17 million since 2007. Meanwhile, the PFT political action committee spent almost $73,000 in 2020 and has spent more than $2.4 million since 2007. Then there are the teachers unions’ contributions to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf: about $2.4 million since 2010, including more than $1.5 million to his successful reelection campaign.
Last April, Wolf ordered all public and private schools closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. Since then, his education department’s guidance has leaned heavily on virtual learning. Even now, as COVID-19 cases decline, teachers unions have pressured the governor to keep schools closed. But parents are starting to resist this guidance. In fact, their resistance is bolstering support for more school choice.
In recent months, Pennsylvania parents have submitted Right-to-Know requests to school districts and discovered data that substantiate their concerns. Chester County mother Beth Ann Rosica, for example, found that in the Downingtown Area School District, 13% of students in sixth through 12th grade are now failing one or more classes, compared to 7% last year. The district also saw absences shoot up 60% this year.
“Every school district in Pennsylvania has a remote or virtual option for every grade level, and we respect their choice to keep their child at home,” Rosica said. “We just want some way for our children to be in school five days a week.”
State Rep. Carrie Lewis DelRosso, a Republican who represents parts of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, has detected “a growing awareness” about school choice.
“Before the pandemic, I think we were missing the narrative in terms of giving opportunities to working families,” DelRosso said. “But now we can say to the people paying the school taxes that we are going to give your money back to you so you can do what’s best for your own families.”
According to a 2020 school choice survey, 73% of Pennsylvanians supported an EOA-style program similar to the one proposed by Lewis and his colleagues. Since the poll was conducted before the COVID-19 crisis, it is possible that support is now even higher.
Lewis acknowledged that Wolf faces pressure from his union benefactors, but he noted that the governor could simply decline to sign the bill rather than veto it — allowing it to “lapse” into law.
“We are giving more flexibility and opportunities for kids and families,” Lewis said. “I just don’t see how you can veto that.”
Kevin Mooney (@KevinMooneyDC) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an investigative reporter in Washington, D.C., who writes for several national publications.
