The Issue — school vouchers

The Pennsylvania House Education Committee is planning to vote on a tuition voucher bill (HB1800 Tuition Scholarships for Students in the Harrisburg School District) on Monday, November 18th  – and it could see a full House vote later next week.  The bill would offer vouchers to students in the Harrisburg School District, just when the district is starting to recover from years of fiscal crisis. If we let this happen to kids in Harrisburg, this voucher scheme could eventually impact other school districts in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Representative Mike Turzai loves tuition vouchers and he is targeting Harrisburg School District as his first voucher experiment in Pennsylvania. Here is what Representative Turzai’s HB 1800 does:

• Provides tuition vouchers worth up to $8,200 to students in Harrisburg School District.
• Targets Harrisburg School District because it has had a history of fiscal crisis, even when it is starting to turn itself around.
• Costs the school district up to $8.5 million if between 10 and 20 percent of students utilize the tuition vouchers.
• Offers no accountability for the education of students who use tuition vouchers to attend private schools.

This is not only a Harrisburg issue.  Other school districts that could be impacted by HB1800 if a receiver is ever appointed are:  Allentown City, Bethlehem Area, Coatesville Area, Easton Area, Erie City, Hazelton Area, Lancaster, Reading, Wilkes-Barre Area, York City.

AAUW strongly supports providing an excellent education for all children, not private school vouchers for a few. When public funds are re-directed through school voucher programs we put the education and civil rights of women and girls at risk.

Contact your state representative ASAP and ask him or her to OPPOSE House Bill 1800.

Find his or her name and contact information here.  Copy and modify (to reflect your opinion and perspective) the following text and paste into their email contact tool.

Dear Representative LAST NAME,
I am your constituent and urge you to oppose HB1800 and any other legislation that would establish a tuition voucher program for students in the Harrisburg School District.

Speaker Turzai’s voucher scheme could end up costing the Harrisburg School District up to $8.5 million in state funding and would create a new government mandate using state tax dollars to fund half of the cost of the voucher program, forcing taxpayers to pay for two education systems. Tuition vouchers siphon money from public schools to religious and private schools without holding those schools accountable for student achievement. In fact, HB1800 expressly prohibits additional accountability requirements on non-public schools. Even more egregious, HB1800 enables discriminatory admission practices and would allow non-public schools to refuse students, including those with special needs.

HB1800 is a mandate that if enacted, would undermine the Financial Recovery Act by taking millions away from a financially distressed school district and disrupting its recovery process.  And, it would impact ten additional school districts if ever a receiver was assigned — Allentown City S D, Bethlehem Area S D, Coatesville Area S D, Easton Area S D, Erie City S D, Hazelton Area S D, Lancaster S D, Reading S D, Wilkes-Barre Area S D, York City S D.

Please remain focused on ensuring that every student in every community has equal access to an excellent system of public education.  I strongly support providing an excellent education for all children, not private school vouchers for a few. When public funds are re-directed through school voucher programs we put the education and civil rights of students at risk.
Please oppose HB 1800 or any other bill that would create a taxpayer-funded voucher program.

YOUR NAME and ADDRESS