URGENT Action Alert: Tell Your Elected Officials to VOTE NO on Voucher & Charter Expansion
In a flurry of legislative activity, legislators in both the House and Senate have introduced a number of bills that would greatly harm public education.
Legislation
URGENT PFT Legislative Memo: Voucher & Charter Expansion
June 4, 2021
To: Members of the General Assembly
From: Jerry Jordan
Re: Updated Legislative Positions
Bill raising teachers' salaries stalled
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.
Labor blocks vote on bill weakening PA unions
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.
PA House-Senate appoint committee chairs
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.
Post-Janus, PA lawmakers float bills attacking unions and their members
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.
Where we stand: AFTPA opposes ESA/Vouchers
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.
AFTPA opposes arming teachers and staff
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.
GOP stacks a committee to move ESA/voucher bill
The latest attempt by PA Republicans to pass an education savings account/voucher bill (Senate Bill 2) got a major boost this week when an anti-voucher senator on the Senate Education Committee left the committee and was replaced by an SB 2 sponsor. Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, who voted NO on the ESA/DeVos voucher bill in an unrecorded, tie committee vote, resigned as a member of the Senate Education Committee and is being replaced by Sen. Rich Alloway, R-Franklin, SB 2's sponsor.