Take Action: Tell your House members to vote NO on voucher, charter bills
PSBA needs your immediate action to block these bills in the House of Representatives:
- School vouchers: On Monday, September 27, the House Education Committee will vote on House Bill 1254 (Rep. DelRosso, R-Allegheny), a broad-based, mandatory voucher plan. Under this significantly disruptive and expensive proposal, any school district that does not “provide full-time in-person instruction or denies a student full-time in-person instruction” would be required to establish a voucher for students to use at any public or nonpublic school. The vaguely worded provisions under House Bill 1254 leave loopholes and numerous questions and concerns. this bill serves to establish a foundation to chip away at Pennsylvania’s public education system by providing the statutory basis to expand vouchers in the future. Click here to send a letter to your House members opposing House Bill 1254.
- Charter expansion: On Tuesday, September 28, the House Education Committee will consider House Bill 1685 (Rep. Topper, R-Bedford) allows the unchecked expansion of charter schools with no public oversight and no consideration given to the quality of the charter school’s programs, all at the expense of school districts and taxpayers. This legislation misses the mark by not addressing the skewed funding formulas for charter schools. Instead, the changes in HB 1685 make new rules that only benefit charter schools at the expense of students, school districts, and local taxpayers. Click here to send a letter to your House members and tell them to reject House Bill 1685.