Myth Busting PA’s Super Voucher Programs—Call Your PA Legislators

From Education Voters of Pennsylvania (http://www.educationvoterspa.org/):

As early as Monday, March 13, we expect to see the PA House vote on legislation to increase funding for private school scholarships through PA’s super voucher programs, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs.

Please take a few minutes to make phone calls to your state representative and senator to ask them to oppose HB 250 (go to http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6041/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=12780 to call them and leave a message now).

In the meantime, please take a few minutes to read this fact sheet we have developed, Myth busting PA’s EITC and OSTC programs, to highlight very serious problems with these programs, which siphon $125 million/year out of the PA budget and into private/religious schools. Highlights include:

• Private/religious schools that receive EITC/OSTC funding are allowed to discriminate against and refuse to enroll students for any reason, including disability, race, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation.
• There is no evidence that the hundreds of millions of tax dollars spent on these programs have had a positive impact on student achievement in the Commonwealth because state law prohibits the collection of information about students’ academic progress.
• State law also explicitly prohibits the collection of information that would demonstrate whether or not the EITC/OSTC programs benefit children in poverty or help students in low-achieving schools attend higher achieving schools.

Read and share our Myth busting PA’s EITC/OSTC programs fact sheet on Facebook and be ready to make calls to tell your lawmakers to oppose this legislation on Monday. We’ll send you an email with action links bright and early!

Thank you for your support of PA’s public schools.