Top Democrats running for Harris VP would be 'bad news' for school choice, advocates warn

An advocacy group warns that Kamala Harris' three Democratic vice presidential nominations could be harmful to school choice.

The Invest in Education Coalition, an organization that advocates for universal school choice, says the positions of Kamala Harris and her running mates on education differ greatly from those of former President Donald Trump. seconds in a news release first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Governors Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear and Roy Cooper have opposed school choice while sending their children to private schools.

“The opposition of Democratic leaders to empowering parents and giving children the opportunity to get the education of their choice is hypocritical at best,” said Anthony J. de Nicola, president of the Invest in Education Coalition 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 the opportunity to receive a great education. All parents deserve the same choices these governors decided they had the best for their own children.”

Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris has pushed for a tuition-free college and significant increases to Title I, which sends money to schools with larger populations of students from low-income families, Chalkbeat. reported. Harris spoke to the teachers unions on Thursday, but did not mention anything regarding school choice.

“He had a great opportunity today on school choice and charter schools and educational freedom grants and opportunity, it's a civil rights issue of our time … but he's playing for the teachers unions,” Kellyanne Conway, former senior adviser to Trump and Contributor to Fox News said of Harris' speech.

Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro supported school choice for working-class and low-income families in 2022, but says when he was given the chance to follow through on his promises, he changed and it was sold to teachers' unions, the Invest in Education Coalition press. liberation says

In July, the Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal criticized Shapiro for his stance on school choice, claiming he killed vouchers in an attempt to appease House Democrats who oppose them.

In March, Kentucky Gov. Beshear opposed school choice and is working to pass a constitutional amendment that would ensure school choice would not be on the general election ballot , according to the press release. He stated that he believes public money should only go to public schools.

North Carolina Gov. Cooper declared in March that private schools should not tell taxpayers what they teach, how their students perform, which students they will reject or whether students will apply, the press release said. Cooper pays the private school tuition himself.

The Invest in Education Coalition introduced the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) that provides K-12 scholarships for up to two million students in the United States, according to the press release. ECCA would give scholarships to students to attend the schools that best fit their needs.

The ECCA bill has yet to pass Congress and receive the President's signature.

The Invest in Education Coalition is a nonprofit organization that “advocates at the federal level for legislation that directly allows K-12 parents across the country to choose the best school or educational service for their children,” the statement from press “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 children's education dollars are spent,” the Invest in Education Coalition stated in the press release.

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