It's beyond cold in Cleveland right now but @DustinFox37 , @1Tyvis & @adamthebull are going to be nice, warm and cozy during the National Championship Monday night thanks to their Snugibles from @PlushibleGifts.
🚨BREAKING: Students from low-income families again swarmed into the Illinois state capitol.
They're chanting, "Save our scholarships!"
Lawmakers are deciding whether to kill or extend Illinois' school choice scholarship program:
The Invest in Kids Act.
@janschakowsky can you please answer these? After reading your statement I don’t see an actual reason given that helps public school education if this program sunsets.
Did you know that:
🔺 IIK doesn’t divert a penny from public schools, rather it increases PS per pupil funding?
🔺Sunsetting the program hurts 9,600 kids without benefiting anyone as there’s no increase to PS funding tied to the sunset?
🔺That all those opposed to IIK supported expanding MAP grants with taxpayer dollars to fund higher ed scholarships to religious colleges that “discriminate”?
🔺 That 51.4% of scholarships go to Black and Latino students who needed another option but couldn’t afford it?
🔺That @janschakowsky has more low-income constituents on IIK scholarships than any other district?
You’re right, Congresswoman, students in Illinois deserve better. They deserve better regardless of their income, color, or zip code. And you should know this better than anyone.
“As the GA debates the future of Invest in Kids, we’d like to remind the Legislature there’s an important aspect that many are overlooking. This scholarship program is ready to fund programs for young men and women of color who want to prepare for apprenticeship programs to become union tradespeople.” https://t.co/axLo9xxc3K
🚨BREAKING: The entire @ILSenateGOP has pledged to support school choice in Illinois.
Thanks to @SenJohnCurran's leadership, his entire caucus will commit to passing the Invest in Kids Act.
🚨BREAKING: @GovPritzker's staff just locked low-income students out of his Chicago office.
They're rallying in support of the Invest in Kids Act.
It's the state's only school choice program.
Pritzker sends his own kids to private schools.
👋Meet Jackson.
He's the Chicago Teachers Union's VP.
His district spends $30K per student. The results are a national embarrassment.
Catholic schools in the same city spend half that amount.
The results are so good that his own boss @stacydavisgates sends her son to one.
.@GovPritzker says he wants Illinois' school choice program to continue.
👉 That's because he knows it's popular.
But he's too scared to use his platform to make it happen.
👉 That's because he knows teachers unions campaign for him.
Fortunately, Democrats in Springfield filed a bill to extend it.
But it has yet to reach his desk.
Polling shows a majority of Democrats support the Invest in Kids Act.
It's also supported by:
✅65% of Black voters
✅61% of Latino voters
But teachers unions are terrified of it.
Why?
They don't want competition for the failing public schools they run.
The Chicago Teachers Union says the program "steals" from public schools.
False.
Since its start in 2017, public school funding has shot up by $2 billion.
As for test scores? No improvement.
Pritzker and CTU president @stacydavisgates choose private schools for their kids.
It's good enough for them, but not less fortunate families? 🤔
Teachers unions have long held that they have students' best interest at heart.
No one believes that anymore.
They have the system's best interests at heart.
Invest in Kids families might earn less than Pritzker and Davis Gates.
But they deserve the same opportunities.
Our team's work on school choice was cited by @WSJ. ⬇️⬇️
Chicago Public Schools' budget has grown by $2B since the passage of Invest in Kids.
The myth of "under-funded" public schools serves to excuse the Chicago Teachers Union's abysmal failures.
CTU ruins the lives of poor families to protect union feelings.
Viva la revolución!
🚨BREAKING: Students just swarmed the state capitol.
They are demanding that Illinois politicians save the Invest in Kids school choice program.
These kids come from low-income families.
The Chicago Teachers Union is trying to steal their scholarships to protect their power.
What happens when the Chicago Teachers Union tells the mayor what to think?
The mayor gets everything wrong.
This is reflected by CTU and @ChicagosMayor's very public crashing and burning.
Let's not let them take low-income students down with them.
.@ChiPubSchool math and reading scores under-perform:
👉Chicago Catholic schools
👉the state average
👉the U.S. average
The Invest in Kids Act is low-income families' only exit option.
The Chicago Teachers Union wants to take it away from them.
Call your lawmaker.
Illinoisans who favor extending the Invest in Kids school choice program:
👉Black voters
👉Latino voters
👉parents
👉Democrats
👉Republicans
Illinoisans who oppose it:
👉The Chicago Teachers Union
👉Chicago Teachers Union-aligned activists
Glad we've cleared that up.
There are very few things in life that are such as large predictor of future success in life than an high quality education. Every elected official has a vested interest in making it happen!
Gov says send me anything and I’ll be happy to sign it. Question is if lawmakers are willing to do their part. We listened to them and crafted a compromise. Time for them to listen to over 9,500 kids who are counting on it. #savemyscholarship
https://t.co/uTZ554vV33