Pennsylvania is in the midst of a battle for education freedom and may be coming close to creating the kind of mixed, strange-bedfellows coalition of supporters that could be a model for the nation – if the coalescing group can draw close enough to achieve unity on the issue.
It would be fitting that the place that gave birth to the American Revolution–which ensured the blessings of freedom and independence for our nation–would also be where real, tri-partisan support for education freedom breaks through.
That may not seem to be the case given the recent impasse caused by the presence of a $100 million tuition scholarship plan in the commonwealth’s budget proposal – and the subsequent line-item veto of the plan.
Democrats, under duress from teachers unions and a coalition of labor groups, stood against the measure and refused to budge while Republicans were similarly steadfast on the pro-side of the aisle. Meanwhile the commonwealth’s budget sat in limbo, until, finally, as The Wall Street Journal put it: “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro disappointed thousands of parents…when he vetoed a $100 million voucher proposal he had supported before caving to unions and the Democratic-run House.”
But there are interesting subtexts and follow-ons to this story that speak to the possible breakdown of such partisan gridlock (at least on the issue of education freedom) and reflect the type of unity of purpose mentioned at the outset.
First is the fact that, in spite of his veto, Democratic Gov. Shapiro did, in fact, express support for the measure and, ostensibly, still does. His veto seems less a heartfelt rejection of the proposal and more an act of political expediency – putting off until tomorrow what one can’t muster support for today.
Republican lawmakers felt ill-used by the Governor. He, apparently, had vowed to deliver enough Democratic votes to carry the measure through. When he didn’t, or couldn’t, Republicans cried foul. However, Pennsylvania Republicans should remember that while they are generally supportive of policies that promote education freedom, they are not always aligned with one another on the issues. Republican lawmakers should recall that over the years, they too have had many chances to adopt education reforms and have failed to do so.
Still, there is now precedent for a level of left-right cooperation that, if expanded, even slightly, can yield results.
That expansion includes Troy Carter. A West Philadelphia native, Carter led the formation of One Way Out, a coalition of groups that support alternatives to public schools and managed the group’s television and digital advertising that encouraged Pennsylvanians to call their legislators to support the recent scholarship legislation.
Carter argues for a tuition scholarship program because he believes that with an overall increase in Pennsylvania’s education budget the funds dedicated to scholarships would not undercut public school funding. He also is an advocate for such a program due to his first-hand experience with low-performing schools and his understanding of where education leads.
“Educated kids don’t want to go to jail,” he recently told a reporter. “Educated kids don’t want to commit crimes. And if we want to get at root causes, we have to educate kids.”
Polling numbers are also trending in favor of education freedom policies, which will begin to win over opponents of such measures. According to Larry Platt, writing in The Philadelphia Citizen, there is polling data showing that Democrats, as a whole, support vouchers with support from Blacks reaching nearly 70 percent. For many Democratic office holders and candidates those figures will become hard to ignore – and will make it easier to stand up to the threats issued by teachers unions.
Platt also cites a revealing break in union solidarity. Quoting Ryan Boyer, leader of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, The Citizen reports that Boyer says he’s “open to any solution that can help families better educate their children and get them ready to be productive members of society.” Boyer, who sends his son to a private school says he would “be a hypocrite to oppose school choice.”
Support for education freedom is also emerging from the ranks of the anti-scholarship forces.
Rep. Amen Brown (D-Philadelphia) has boldly broken ranks with his party declaring that students should not be forced to attend public schools that offer no hope or opportunities. “How much have we been dumping into the system and nothing has changed?” he asked, pointing to the decades-long abysmal performance of Philadelphia public schools. “We have to give our parents another option and leave it in their hands to choose where they want their child to go.”
None of this represents a movement of earthquake proportions. But it does appear that the tectonic plates, so long locked in place, are starting to shift. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, liberals, conservatives, slowly are coming into alignment. The issue is not about parties, or politics, or the demands of special interests. It’s about ideology—an ideology that says kids and families deserve our unequivocal support in their striving to apply their God-given talents and realize their dreams.
That is what education is about and what education freedom can help accomplish.
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