Jay-Z is supporting an effort to fund private school vouchers in Philadelphia. His company, Roc Nation, is funding a campaign to garner support for the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success. This legislative proposal aims to use taxpayer money to provide private school scholarships for low-income families in neighborhoods with low-achieving schools. Dania Diaz, Roc Nation’s Managing Director of Philanthropy, emphasized the company’s commitment to investing in the long-term success of Philadelphia’s community. Jay-Z has strong ties to Philadelphia through Roc Nation’s annual Made In America festival and involvement in the REFORM Alliance, which advocates for criminal justice reform.
Vouchers are a contentious issue in many states, including Pennsylvania. Republicans endorse them as a means to help students flee underperforming schools, while teachers unions, school boards, and many Democrats oppose using taxpayer money to fund private and religious schools.
Jay-Z’s support of the voucher bill faced criticism online, particularly from the AFT Pennsylvania teachers union, expressing disapproval over a photo of Jay-Z and Jeffrey Yass, a billionaire who is a major donor to Republican campaigns in Pennsylvania. Yass’s primary focus in the state is school choice.
Last year, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, initially supported a Republican-backed proposal to allocate funds for private school tuition and school supplies to families. However, Shapiro retracted his support in response to opposition from House Democrats.
