NEWS
Tell Congress To Restore Special Education Services TODAY!
In a sweeping move, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education (US ED) has wiped out the office in charge of special education, firing nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of new layoffs that began Friday,...
PA House passes a budget that funds our schools, the Senate must now act
Yesterday, Democratic leaders brought a state budget totaling $50.25 billion to the floor in the Pennsylvania House and it passed with bipartisan support, 105-98. Click HERE to see how your state representative voted. This budget includes: A fully-funded second...
A staggering increase in cyber charter fund balances
As the budget impasse drags on, the state has missed $1.75 billion in payments to school districts. Some school districts are drawing money out of their fund balances (savings accounts) to pay their bills. Districts that lack adequate fund balances must borrow from...
More horrific abuse of cyber charter students. Enough is enough.
In Pennsylvania, our state law is supposed to protect children. Yet a loophole in Pennsylvania’s charter school law, combined with lax enforcement by the state agency responsible for overseeing cyber charters, leaves vulnerable children enrolled in these schools at...
It’s time for the PA Senate to get serious
We’re already well into August—nearly two months past Pennsylvania’s June 30th budget deadline—and the Senate continues to put forth unserious proposals. On Tuesday, August 12, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a $47.6 billion budget—about $3 billion less than the...
ALERT: Tell your senator cyber charter funding reforms MUST be in the budget this year.
Budget negotiations in Harrisburg are ongoing and it is unclear whether the PA Senate will support cyber charter funding reforms. We're now hearing that a $8000 statewide cyber charter tuition rate may be OFF of the negotiating table. This is an all hands on deck...
Pennsylvanians are demanding cyber charter reform, it’s time for the PA legislature to act
At Ed Voters, we've been raising the alarm about the need for cyber charter funding and accountability reforms—but we’re far from the only ones. Across Pennsylvania, school board members, superintendents, community leaders, parents, and taxpayers are speaking out....
House Bill 1500 Passes The PA House Education Committee – Help Us Get It Across The Finish Line!!
Monday, June 2, the PA House Education Committee passed House Bill 1500, a cyber charter reform bill that will save Pennsylvanians hundreds of millions of dollars by setting a flat tuition rate of $8000 for each regular education student and aligning special education...
Advocacy Day 2025 – This Is What Commitment Looks Like
On Tuesday, hundreds of advocates from every corner of the commonwealth traveled to Harrisburg for the PA Schools Work Advocacy Day with one united message: Finish the job. Fund our schools. In the pouring rain, we rallied on the Capitol steps.We held...
Pennsylvanians Reject Efforts to Dismantle the U.S. Department of Education
A new poll confirms what many of us already know: Pennsylvanians support strong public schools — and they want elected leaders to invest in the students who attend them. According to a recent poll conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research for the Pennsylvania...
We won the cyber charter case on appeal!
You may remember our blog post from February 14, 2024, titled, “We took a cyber charter to court, and won!” We detailed spending more than two years in court trying to get Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) to produce documents that they had been ordered by the...
What We Know: The Impacts Of Federal Funding Decisions On PA’s Education Landscape
As discussions around the future of the U.S. Department of Education continue to unfold, we know that many of you are watching these developments closely. While the situation remains fluid, we wanted to reach out with the latest information we have and what it could...
Key Findings From a New Audit of Five PA Cyber Charter Schools
A newly-released audit from Pennsylvania Auditor General Tim DeFoor’s office of five Pennsylvania cyber charter schools has confirmed what we’ve long known—Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school funding system is deeply flawed and in need of urgent reform. Under the...
Our deep dive into Gov. Shapiro’s proposed budget for education.
On February 4, 2025, Governor Shapiro gave his budget address and shared his 2025-26 state budget proposal, which demonstrates his strong commitment to supporting public education. The proposed new investments and efficiencies, if adopted as a package, will be a win...
Governor Shapiro’s Budget Proposal Demonstrates His Strong Commitment to Public Education !
The proposed new investments and efficiencies, if adopted as a package, will be a win for rural, urban, and suburban students and communities across the commonwealth HARRISBURG, PA (February 4, 2025) –Education Voters of PA, a statewide, nonprofit, nonpartisan policy...
Governor Shapiro’s Department of Education denies the new AI cyber charter school application!
Great news for public education in Pennsylvania—The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has denied the application for Unbound Academic Institute PA Charter School, an AI-driven cyber charter school that sought approval to operate in the Commonwealth. Read the...
PA Needs A Moratorium On New Cyber Charters, Not An AI Cyber School!
Pennsylvania currently has 14 privately operated, publicly-funded cyber charter schools that any Pennsylvania student can attend. Tuition payments to these schools cost taxpayers more than $1 billion each year, Every cyber charter has been designated as needing...
Tuesday’s Election
As Pennsylvanians continue to process what Tuesday’s election will mean for our public schools and communities, our team is holding close the vulnerable students and their families who would be impacted by actions aimed at rescinding key civil rights protections in...
School Is Back In Session, and Advocacy Is In Full Swing Across The Commonwealth
School is back in session, and that means advocacy work is in full swing across the Commonwealth! As classrooms fill with eager students, we’re excited to see so many of you stepping up to support public education in your communities. The Ed Voters team has been hard...
A New School Year, An Election, And A Season Of Advocacy
As the summer sun sets and we transition into a new school year, we’re gearing up for an exciting and impactful season of advocacy. We recently wrapped up our annual in-person retreat with our partners in the PA Schools Work coalition, leaving with a strong plan to...