State Representative Mike Turzai, Betsy DeVos’ ideological soul mate, recently introduced a school voucher bill (House Bill 1800) that would create a costly school voucher experiment in the Harrisburg School District,  just when the district is beginning to recover from years of financial crisis.

If HB 1800 passes, this expensive voucher program would drain up to $8.5 million out of the Harrisburg School District. The bill is also written in a way to expand vouchers to other school districts in Pennsylvania in the future.

Like other voucher bills, HB 1800 gives “choice” to private/religious schools, not to families. Nothing in Turzai’s voucher bill prevents religious or private schools from taking taxpayer money and refusing to admit students for almost any reason, including their disability.

Voucher programs undermine Pennsylvania’s ability to ensure every student in every community has equal access to public education. They allow for taxpayer-funded discrimination against vulnerable students and provide taxpayer-funded private school tuition subsidies to families that are already paying for their children’s private education on their own.

Tell your state representative to oppose Mike Turzai's school voucher bill, HB 1800.