PA State Rep. Martina White

It took two years for the Emancipation Proclamation and the objectives of the newly formed Republican Party to be fully realized, but on June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day.

Praying for a full recovery for this officer.

Officer injured after being struck by vehicle in Philadelphia's Olney section https://6abc.cm/SE0SP6

Recently, I participated in a multistate roundtable focused on childcare needs in Pennsylvania. Read more via Broad + Liberty.

Pennsylvania families are paying the price for childcare red tape Beth Ann Rosica’s writings are a blend of news, opinion, and analysis. Pennsylvania is the nation’s third most regulated […]

UPDATE: This boy has been located.

Philadelphia Police Department is seeking help finding a missing teenager.

https://www.phillypolice.com/news-blotter/missing-juvenile-daivan-collier-from-the-7th-district/

Please pray for the recovery of these officers and lend your support to our entire law enforcement community.

3 officers shot in West Philadelphia overnight; suspect is dead Three Philadelphia police officers were shot after a 57-year-old man opened fire on them in West Philadelphia on Saturday night, Commissioner Bethel said.

Congratulations to all the MaST Community Charter School graduates and special kudos to Principal Phyllis Santiago as she retires!

HARRISBURG – An omnibus education opportunity bill introduced this by Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) would make significant changes to how Pennsylvania families access educational resources, including those needed by students assigned to overcrowded schools or displaced by school closures.

“This bill would improve and expand the scholarship programs and tax credits upon which hundreds of thousands of families rely. They would do so without taking a single dollar away from our public schools,” White said.

White’s legislation would:
• Create a new scholarship program (Displaced Student Scholarship Program) for students assigned to overcrowded schools or those impacted by school closures. Students should not lose access to safe, effective learning environments because of the actions taken by school boards.
• Eliminate scholarship waitlists and expand educational opportunities for thousands of students by expanding funding for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program by $200 million, connecting more families with the schools that work best for their children.
• Open the door to more student scholarships by increasing the available EITC tax credit to 99% for donations to scholarship organizations, creating parity within the program while encouraging more donor participation.
• Put families in control of their child’s education by creating a direct tax credit (the Pennsylvania Learning Investment Tax Credit) to use for expenses like tutoring, curriculum materials and other education expenses.
• Ensure Pennsylvania students benefit from the new, bipartisan federal Education Freedom Tax Credit by opting into the program and making significant new scholarship resources available to families across the Commonwealth. The state could lose out on $1 billion in scholarships if it doesn’t join 30 other states in opting in to the new program.

“Fewer than half of Pennsylvania eighth graders are proficient in reading, with even worse results noted for math. We cannot keep repeating the same, flawed methods of delivering education and expecting different results,” White said. “We must innovate and give families more flexibility to advance their children’s educational goals.”