Legislation

With the state budget negotiations in full swing, below please find an overview of PFT's legislative priorities and positions, many issued in collaboration with coalition partners:

Recent legislative memos and coalition materials:

• Overarching budget platform, released with coalition partners: pft.org/budget2024
• Our pro-public education and anti-voucher public education sign on is LIVE, and elected officials are signing on here: pft.org/MeetTheMoment

Elected Officials are signing on to show their full support for public education and their rejection of vouchers. Below is a (growing!) list of elected allies who have added their names so far. Check our social media pages for graphics!

As we gear up for the state budget, PFT President Jerry Jordan issued the following memos to elected officials:

March 14, 2024: Overall Legislative Priorities

March 18, 2024: Additional Voucher Information 

Additional documents and research:

6/21/23: Memo: Voucher opposition

6/21/23: Memo: Support for HB1408 (facilities funding)

6/23/23: Remarks at facilities press conference

6/26/23: Memo: Additional research on vouchers

6/27/23: Remarks at anti-voucher coalition press conference

A push to raise the state's minimum teacher salary has become a bipartisan effort, but it appears to not be enough to ensure a key piece of Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal will make it into the final version of the spending document.

A Janus-related bill (House Bill 785) aimed at weakening public employees' voices and smothering unions in Pennsylvania was voted out of committee but blocked from a vote on the House floor. More post-Janus, anti-union bills possible this session.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate have named the following legislators as majority and minority chairs of their committees. The retirements and election losses brought major leadership changes to several committees.

The Janus decision has emboldened PA lawmakers to propose a several bills aimed squarely at taking down public employee unions and disempowering school and state workers.

The Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee is considering Senate Bill 2 establishing taxpayer-funded education savings accounts, which is another name for vouchers. AFT Pennsylvania opposes ESAs, vouchers, education tax credits and other gimmicks that divert taxpayer money from public schools that serve the majority of Pennsylvania's children to unaccountable private schools and service providers that serve a few students.

AFT Pennsylvania opposes any legislation that would permit school and college faculty and staff to be armed while in classrooms and on campuses. "If educators had wanted careers in law enforcement, we would have enrolled in the Police Academy, instead of a School of Education," said AFTPA President Ted Kirsch. "Our job is to educate children and make their lives better." AFTPA supports commonsense programs and resources to make sure that children are safe while at school and on college campuses. Download AFTPA's position.