In a shocking development, Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate for Governor, has endorsed a school choice bill that was barely passed by the Republican House.
Shapiro is currently the state’s attorney general. He is running against an extreme Trumper who participated in the January 6 insurrection.
On Saturday, Shapiro told supporters that he favors the “Lifeline Scholarship Program,” which passed the Republican House in April by a vote of 104-98. That was the first time that a voucher bill ever passed the State House. It also was passed by the Senate Education Committee in June.
The bill is supported by the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate and puts Shapiro in the same boat with Betsy DeVos and Charles Koch. Shapiro joins the tiny number of Democrats, like Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who supports school choice.
You can bet that many parent advocates and teachers are shocked. The research is clear that school choice does not improve student’s educational outcomes. What’s up?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Follow the money
And you can bet
It flows in circles
Pocket to pocket
And down the toilet.
BURMA SHAVE
See, this is exactly why I have no political party allegiance whatsoever. Neoliberal capitalism has infected and poisoned everything in this current system.
good word: infected
Nailed it! The commodification of America continues. Neoliberalism knows no other way. Damn shame.
Is it really only a tiny number of Democrats (asking; not meaning to be sarcastic)? I take heed of Jon Awbrey’s poem. Maybe the best part of Trump/DeVos was the exposure of these so-called Democrats for Education Reform.
I just remember the NCLB legislation signing ceremony at that high school in Ohio that Ted Kennedy was also part of and I distinctly remember saying to myself, “Someone’s gotta cut off his supply of Chivas if he, the last remaining centerpiece of old school progressive liberalism, is agreeing to this.”
Yes! It was a bipartisan betrayal of teachers. So, so upsetting.
yes, and sadly it is not a past tense thing: it is overwhelming to be in 2022 and still see the entire reform structure still in place and spreading across the nation
And it was done such that my friend the teacher who is now a staunch Trump supporter could blame the Democrats for the pain caused in his life by government. This made it possible for him to keep his ideology intact, a belief system based on the idea that all government is bad, and the Democrats were the source for all bad things. For some reason, Democrats refuse to understand this mental attitude. Two decades later, they are still bleeding their base away with behavior that eroded support and continued to do so.
One of the stupidest, most destructive failures in the education “deform” movement. And, in the age of accountability in education, no one has been called to account.
We are seeing that what makes the education of children is becoming a political weapon. Whether is public or private or voucher the center should be a curriculum that enforces character and knowledge. They want private make them even more accountable and share of their prodigious resources and curriculum. Want public share what works too but all to the growth of our future generations. This is a time to really know nation wide what is working and share
PML Sent from my iPhone
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Cui bono. Is this a question of money, religion or racism? Maybe all three? Would school vouchers support Jewish schools as well as Christian and Catholic schools? Shapiro is devoutly Jewish. I don’t believe that Jews have any special blessing from Yahweh that makes them less racist than Christians, so this could mean federal funding for yeshivas. Now, this is not a light accusation so does anyone have any insight into this? Why does Shapiro stand alongside Devos???
Get active people! Send Josh Shapiro an email express expressing your outrage at this stupid endorsement!
Here’s his email: contact@joshshapiro.org, As a union public school teacher and a member of the democratic party I am absolutely outraged by your decision to endorse charter schools.
If you don’t know why you should not be supporting the same education policies as Donald Trump and Betsy Devos, then you have no business holding public office for the democratic party.
I was so disgusted by what I read, I wrote Shapiro’s organization, and I’m not a PA resident. Tthanks for the link.
This election is about independents, moderates, and sick-of-the-ExPres Republicans who for at least one election must vote the Democrat.
So – this is blasphemous but here goes:
Pick battles.
Not going to win every battle but win the war.
What will Pennsylvania (and others) look like in four years – this is one issue.
Sure, push back like crazy on every issue – but don’t scare away undecideds or “why bother voting” voters – and get the guy elected.
All this tells me is that Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema are not alone.
Maybe there is a group of elected officials pretending to be Democrats that inflilitrae the Democratic Party to destory it from the inside.
Donald Trump is not the only traitor that sold his soul to the enemy. Wait, Trump never had a soul to sell so what did rasPutin want more than a soul when he recruited Traitor Trump to work for Russia.
Is this supposed to be surprising?
Everyone knows that PA is bat$&!t crazy.
After all, they also have the Wizard of Oz running for Senate who believes that there is no place like the home for women.