Josh Shapiro’s support for vouchers draws criticism from education advocates

A network of more than two dozen public Education advocacy groups from across the country released a letter Wednesday evening urging Vice President Kamala Harris not to select Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her vice presidential running mate because of his support for private school vouchers.

Vouchers, which allow parents to exploit the state to pay for their children to attend private schools, are an issue on which Shapiro has agreed to compromise with Republicans since becoming governor.

Shapiro said he supports vouchers, with the caveat that they must be tied to increased funding for public education so that money is not diverted from public schools. Pennsylvania just passed sweeping changes to how it funds public schools, including an augment of more than $1 billion, to ensure students receive an equitable and relevant education.

However, his openness to vouchers could be a potential obstacle to his bid for vice president.

The Democratic Party platform opposes vouchers. Public school advocates and many Democratic politicians argue that school choice programs drain critical money from public schools.

“We respectfully ask that you not elect Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who has supported education policies that reflect Project 2025,” the letter reads, referring to conservative policy proposals for former President Donald Trump’s second term spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation.

Two Pennsylvania groups, 412 Justice and Education Rights Network, both based in Pittsburgh, signed on to the letter. Advocates from at least a dozen states signed on to the letter, including several others battleground states.

The groups urged Harris to instead choose North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear or Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, citing their support for public education.

In contrast, the letter said Shapiro “has supported voucher programs promoted by well-funded Pennsylvania billionaires like Jeffrey Yass.” Yass is the richest man in Pennsylvania and has spent millions of dollars to advocate for states to implement private school voucher programs.

Pam Harbin, co-founder of the Education Rights Network and a Pittsburgh Public Schools board member from 2019 until last year, said she and other public education advocates take a “hard stance against vouchers.”

“So any candidate espousing a far-right political line is unlikely to gain the support of our members,” she said.

But several Pennsylvania Democrats and public education advocates came to Shapiro’s defense.

State Rep. Peter Schweyer (D., Lehigh), who chairs the House Education Committee and has described himself as one of “the most anti-bonus legislators in Pennsylvania,” highlighted some of Shapiro’s major public education victories. They include scholarships for student teachers, funding for building renovations and substantial increases in public education funding.

“We would be incredibly lucky to have Josh Shapiro as our vice president,” Schweyer wrote.

Manuel Bonder, a spokesman for Shapiro, pointed to the historic augment in funding for public education under Shapiro’s leadership.

“Despite being the only governor in the country with a divided legislature — and despite bad faith attacks from all sides — Josh Shapiro championed public education and delivered real results,” Bonder added.

Republicans are most likely to support voucher and school choice policies, as promoted by Trump’s former education secretary, Betsy DeVos. School choice advocates largely believe that vouchers offer students in struggling public schools a path to opportunity. They are also a core tenet of Project 2025.

Shapiro, who He attended a private Jewish school in Merion Station while growing up in Upper Dublin Township, and his children attend a private school. He showed interest in using public funds to send students from struggling schools to private schools while campaigning for governor — giving Republicans hope that Shapiro would be willing to work across party lines on the issue.

After taking office last year, Shapiro helped design a $100 million education voucher program with Senate GOP leaders, shocking teachers unions that had supported his candidacy. But Democrats, who hold a slim majority in the House, did not support the proposal, prompting Shapiro to veto it — angering both parties in the process.

Meanwhile, teachers unions were outraged by his proposal. And Shapiro narrowly avoided a rebuke from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party for his support of vouchers.

Funding for the vouchers was also considered in the 2024 state budget, but no agreement was reached.

Instead, lawmakers opted to expand existing tax credit programs that aid families send their children to private schools. The issue still hangs over the state legislature and is expected to return.

Meanwhile, teachers unions across the country have already expressed forceful support for Harris’ presidential campaign. The American Federation of Teachers voted to endorse her on Monday. Interestingly, no teachers union had signed on to the letter against Shapiro as of Thursday evening.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said in a statement this week, following the AFT’s endorsement, that the union “will ensure that Pennsylvania once again blocks Trump.”

Harris spoke at the union convention in Houston on Thursday.

Harris, who described herself as a “proud product of public education,” devoted much of her speech to touting her campaign platform and the Biden-Harris administration’s policies on unions and education, including a student loan forgiveness program.

Journalist Fallon Roth assisted in preparing this report.