An education advocacy group is warning that three potential Democratic vice presidential nominees for Kamala Harris could be detrimental to school choice.
Invest in Education Coalition, an organization advocating for universal school choice, says that Kamala Harris and her running mates’ positions on education have a grave difference from those of former President Donald Trump, according to a press release first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Governors Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear and Roy Cooper have all opposed school choice while sending their children to private schools.
“Democratic leaders’ opposition to empowering parents and giving children the opportunity to get the education of their choice is hypocritical at best,” Anthony J. de Nicola, Chairman of Invest in Education Coalition said in a press release. “We need strong leaders who will fight to expand school choice so that every child, regardless of their ZIP code, has a chance at a great education. All parents deserve the same options that these governors decided were best for their own children.”
Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has pushed for tuition-free college and significant increases to Title I, which sends money to schools with higher populations of students from low-income families, Chalkbeat reported. Harris spoke to the teacher’s unions on Thursday but failed to mention anything regarding school choice.
“She had a great opportunity today to be for school choice and charter schools and educational freedom and opportunity scholarships, it’s a civil rights issue of our time … but she’s playing for the teachers’ unions,” Kellyanne Conway, former senior counselor for Trump and Fox News contributor said of Harris’ speech.
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro supported school choice for low-income and working-class families back in 2022, but when he was given the chance to act on his promises he changed and sold out to the teachers’ unions, the Invest in Education Coalition press release says.
In July, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board criticized Shapiro for his stance on school choice, stating he killed the vouchers in an attempt to appease the House Democrats who oppose them.
In March, Kentucky Gov. Beshear opposed school choice and is working to beat a constitutional amendment guaranteeing that school choice will not be included on the general election ballot, according to the press release. He stated that he believes public dollars should only go to public schools.
North Carolina Gov. Cooper stated in March that private schools don’t tell taxpayers what they teach, how their students perform, which students they will reject or whether students will show up at all, the press release says. Cooper pays private school tuition himself.
The Invest in Education Coalition introduced the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) which provides K-12 scholarships for up to two million students across the U.S., according to the press release. ECCA would give scholarships for students to attend schools that best meet their needs.
The ECCA bill still has yet to be passed through Congress and receive a signature from the president.
The Invest in Education Coalition is a nonprofit organization that “advocates at the federal level for legislation that will directly empower K-12 parents throughout the nation to choose the best school or education service for their children,” the press release says. “We believe that K-12 parents should have the power to choose the best educational options for their own children.”
“Simply put, parents should decide where their child’s education dollars are spent,” Invest in Education Coalition stated in the press release.
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