Common Sense Weekly
Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
VP Josh Shapiro? Ad Spotlights Governor’s Failed Leadership
Some political pundits say Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would provide the Democratic presidential ticket a boost in a critical battleground state. That will only be true, however, if voters ignore the governor’s lack of success and his failure to unite people to get things done.
According to a Commonwealth Foundation ad
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that appeared in Sunday’s Washington Post, “Governor Josh Shapiro has made ‘Get Sh*t Done,’ profanity and all, the official slogan of his administration. But despite his pledge to bring people together and work across the aisle in the legislature, Shapiro has struggled to govern.”
“Despite talking a big game, Shapiro has struggled to deliver on campaign promises,” said Commonwealth Foundation Senior Vice President Erik Telford. “He promised to reach across the aisle and bring people together, but his inexperience with the legislature resulted in a humiliating defeat after fellow Democrats forced him to veto his own proposal providing scholarships to kids trapped in failing schools.
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Shapiro Failed on School Choice—Again. There’s Hope Despite Him
The state budget is finally done, but Pennsylvania families should be angry. That’s the most important takeaway from the budget that Gov. Josh Shapiro and state lawmakers passed last week.
Last year, Shapiro failed our most vulnerable kids by vetoing his promise to enact Lifeline Scholarships, which would have saved tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of children trapped in failing and unsafe schools. This year, the governor once again betrayed his word.
For 12 months, he’s called these scholarships “unfinished business.” And yet the governor folded amid pressure from his party and the teacher unions. Despite bipartisan support in the Pennsylvania Senate, every Democrat in the House voted against
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Lifeline Scholarships, with nary a word to the contrary from the governor.
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Special Needs Students Thrive in Cyber Charters
Kris Hansen and her son Lucien are square pegs in a world full of round holes. If not for a cyber charter school, this West Chester family might not have found the right fit.
Lucien is intellectually and physically disabled. Bound by a wheelchair, cerebral palsy, and autism, he requires a higher level of care than most students. Since he was three years old, Lucien has needed extensive special education services.
But finding those services has always been a challenge. Lucien has attended school in four different districts—all presented unique obstacles to navigate. Sadly, Kris found that most districts took at least two years to develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and properly integrate her son.
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Fully Funded Public education Must Include Cyber Charters
When a parent says that a public school isn’t what it used to be, the implication is usually bad.
But for Brenda Jesky, a Latrobe mother of three, that’s not the case.
Her daughter Maddy — who has high-functioning autism — struggled with learning in both public and private traditional schools. Choosing Agora Cyber Charter School three years ago was the family “game-changer.”
“If you told me before Agora that Maddy would be graduating in 2025, I would have thought you were crazy,” says Jesky. “The path with brick-and-mortar school would have most likely had her dropping out at age 16. But here we are, on track for graduation.”
Or so they hoped.
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