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HARRISBURG, PA (June 29, 2023) – PSEA President Rich Askey today commented on a letter to lawmakers signed by right-wing, pro-tuition voucher individuals and organizations urging support for tuition voucher plans. Askey emphasized that the core mission for many of the signers to this letter is not to help public school students but to attack and undermine public education.

“These people are clearly not focused on improving our public schools,” Askey said. “Many of them are driven by far-right ideology and have made destroying public education a part of their core mission for years. No one who is serious about supporting Pennsylvania’s public schools should think for a second that these people want what’s best for our public school students.”

Some policymakers have been pushing in budget negotiations for a “lifeline scholarship” tuition voucher program that would allocate state taxpayer funds to private and religious schools. While Gov. Shapiro has voiced support for the concept, many pro-public education lawmakers have been clear that they are opposed to tuition voucher proposals that would divert state funding away from Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million public school students.

“This letter clearly reveals the motives behind lawmakers who are pushing tuition voucher schemes,” Askey added. “People like Betsy DeVos, Grover Norquist, and other radical extremists have no interest in helping public school students. They want to attack public education, just like many of the people who signed this letter have done for years.

“These signers just gave lawmakers 65 more reasons to vote ‘no’ on a tuition voucher bill. We haven’t heard from some of these people in decades. It’s hard to believe that they are experts on public education in Pennsylvania.”

An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, student teachers, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.