PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER ROUND OF CONTACTS WITH YOUR LEGISLATORS ON VOUCHERS AND THE BUDGET AND ENCOURAGE YOUR NETWORKS OF PUBLIC ED ADVOCATES TO DO THE SAME.
There will be a strong push for voucher legislation of some kind to be moved before the legislative session ends on June 30th, possibly as part of an omnibus bill attached to the budget.
Public Education Stakeholders can use Education Voters PA website to email and call your legislators regarding the budget and keeping vouchers out of the budget bill.
Please forward this link to any public education stakeholders
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6041/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4313
PSBA reports that this afternoon the House Education Committee has amended and reported out SB 612, Furlough Bill
This afternoon the House Education Committee approved SB 612, legislation regarding the furlough of teachers for economic reasons. The bill was reported out of the committee with only minor changes -- it still requires furloughs to be based on seniority, and also requires school boards to suspend an equal percentage proportion of administrative staff. SB 612 will now move to the House floor.
http://capwiz.com/psba/issues/alert/?alertid=50782526&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]
Report of New Voucher Bill in PA Raises Regulatory Red Flags
There is an ongoing, nasty battle over vouchers in Pennsylvania that has split Republican legislators, the Senate from the House, and Tea Party groups across the state. The Senate is determined to pass SB1, an expansive voucher bill, while the House has already existing education tax credit program and doesn't want to consider the voucher.
Beyond simple opposition to private school choice, concerns about the fiscal impact and a desire for benefits to be expanded to the middle class have led many Republicans and local Tea Party groups to oppose the voucher program.
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/report-of-new-voucher-bill-in-pa-raises-regulatory-red-flags/
Voucher schools have created a separate, unequal system
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Opinion By Courtney Bowie, Karyn Rotker, Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick
Private voucher schools are failing Milwaukee children with disabilities. When these voucher schools ignore their obligations to educate and accommodate children with disabilities, they force Milwaukee Public Schools to pick up the slack - while giving MPS fewer resources to do so. Voucher schools' large-scale exclusion of children with disabilities has led to a segregated environment with a disproportionate share of children with disabilities attending MPS.
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