PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jay-Z is throwing his weight behind an effort to fund private school vouchers in Philadelphia.
Entertainment mogul Roc Nation announced this month that it would fund a campaign to rally support for the Pennsylvania Student Success Awards, a statewide legislative proposal that would use taxpayer money to fund private school scholarships for low-income families in areas with low-performing schools.
“We have a special connection with the people of Philadelphia, which is why we make it our mission to invest in the long-term success of our city’s change-makers,” Dania Diaz, Roc Nation’s managing director of philanthropy, said in a news release last week.
Jay-Z has close ties to Philadelphia through his involvement with Roc Nation’s annual “Made in America” festival and the REFORM Alliance, which advocates for criminal justice reform.
Vouchers have been controversial in many states, including Pennsylvania, where Republicans have promoted them as a way to save students from underperforming schools, but teachers unions, school boards and many Democrats oppose sending taxpayer money to private and religious schools.
Jay-Z’s support for the voucher bill has sparked backlash online. Pennsylvania teachers union AFT said “this is not right” in a photo posted on social platform X of Jay-Z and Jeffrey Yass, the billionaire who is the largest donor to Pennsylvania Republican Party campaigns. Yass’ main focus in the state is school choice.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, last year supported a Republican-backed proposal to give families $100 million for private school tuition and supplies, but later backed down in the face of opposition from House Democrats.
