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Top Story

1. Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions

“The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down colleges’ use of race-conscious admissions nationwide, ruling in a pair of closely watched cases that the practice is racially discriminatory.

Writing for the court’s majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that policies that claim to consider an applicant’s race as one factor among many are in fact violating the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” (Chronicle of Higher Education)

• PA Lawmakers Respond To Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision. (PoliticsPA)
• ‘Damn The United States Supreme Court.’ PA Democrats Decry Ruling On Affirmative Action. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Related

Casey, Wild Announce Special Financial Assistance For PA Union Pensions. “This investment totals over $860 million in Special Financial Assistance to the National Integrated Group Pension Plan (NIGPP), benefitting more than 48,000 workers and retirees in the manufacturing industry, including approximately 6,700 in Pennsylvania.” (PoliticsPA)

• The Feds Will Bail Out A Pension Plan That Includes Thousands Of PA Workers And Retirees. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Moms For Liberty Didn’t Exist 3 Years Ago. Now It’s A GOP Kingmaker. “It also signals how polarized education politics have become — and spotlights the veneration with which conservatives now regard Moms for Liberty, a group that didn’t exist three years ago but which today boasts more than 100,000 members across 44 states.” (Washington Post)

Harrisburg

2. PA Budget Agreement Is Elusive As Fiscal-Year Deadline Looms

“Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature appeared on track Thursday to start the state’s fiscal year without a spending plan in place, with closed-door talks yielding optimism from Republicans, but discontent from Democrats.

For Shapiro, getting his first budget across the finish line is perhaps the biggest test yet of his political skills under the Capitol dome.” (AP)

Related

State Budget Deadline In Jeopardy With Partisan Face-Off Over School Vouchers. “Chances for an on-time state budget appeared to drop Thursday night as the Democrat-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate faced off on giving scholarships to public school students so they can attend private schools — also known as vouchers.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Senate Passes School Voucher Program; Bill Heads To House. “Capping off an evening session, the Pennsylvania Senate approved a $100 million school voucher program to provide scholarships to help eligible students pay tuition, fees and special education services for attendance at a participating nonpublic school.” (PoliticsPA)

PA’s GOP-Controlled Senate Advances $100M Plan For School Vouchers, With Gov. Shapiro’s (Conditional) Backing. “The Pennsylvania Senate advanced on Thursday a $103 million school voucher program to allow students from the state’s lowest-performing public schools to attend private education using state dollars.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• PA Senate-Passed Tuition Voucher Program Faces Tough Test In State House. (PennLive)
• PA Senate School Voucher Bill Tied To State Budget Is Destined To Fail, House Democrats Say. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• School Vouchers Get OK From PA Senate As Lawmakers Negotiate The Next State Budget. (CNHI News)
• ‘No Student Should Remain Trapped’: Celebrities Push For PA School Vouchers. (PennLive)

Schmidt, Philly’s Former Top Republican Elections Official, Is Now Officially PA Secretary Of State. “Al Schmidt, a Republican former Philadelphia elections official who challenged election denialism in 2020 and testified before the Jan. 6 congressional committee, is officially Pennsylvania’s secretary of state.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Wild Picks Up Endorsement Of FP4A. “In one is expected to be one of the most-watched Congressional races in the Keystone State in 2024, Rep. Susan Wild (D-07) launched the first salvo, earning the endorsement of the Foreign Policy for America Action Network.” (PoliticsPA)

Changing Their Tune? PA Lawmakers Consider Replacing The State’s Official Song. “Pennsylvania may soon be changing its tune. A proposal to establish a new state song got a positive vote Thursday in the House of Representatives, although there was some discord.” (AP)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Supreme Court Paves Way For More Religious Accommodations

The Supreme Court made it easier for employees to seek religious accommodations in a case involving a lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania evangelical Christian mail carrier who asked not to work on Sundays. (PoliticsPA)

U.S. Supreme Court Sends Former Holtwood Mail Carrier Back To Appeals Court After Clarifying Rule. (LNP)

Related

A PA Ethics Panel Refused To Assess Gainey’s Controversial Pick Of Union Leader To Powerful Post. “A Pennsylvania ethics panel has declined to weigh in on Mayor Ed Gainey’s controversial nomination of a top labor union leader to Pittsburgh’s powerful City Planning Commission, according to documents obtained by the Post-Gazette. ” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Biden Campaign Names Delco Native Deputy Communications Director. “Brooke Goren, 30, who grew up in Media, is currently the deputy communications director at the Democratic National Committee. She’ll work closely with Michael Tyler, the incoming communications director for Biden’s 2024 campaign.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

‘Magic Seat’ Season Has Again Arrived For Would-Be Judicial Candidates In Philadelphia. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year for would-be judicial candidates in Philadelphia — “magic seat” season — when the city’s Democratic Party can nominate candidates for judge who are sure to win.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Charges Withdrawn Against Former Candidate After Incident With Mayor Ed Gainey. “A former candidate for Allegheny County’s top elected office is no longer due in court.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Allegheny County’s Minimum Wage Dispute Is Also An Argument About Who Gets To Be The Boss. “It may seem crazy at first: County Executive Rich Fitzgerald essentially taking his own government’s legislative branch to court? Asking a judge to invalidate a minimum-wage ordinance passed by fellow Democrats? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THIS FAMILY?” (WESA)

Editorial

4. What They’re Saying

• Josh Shapiro’s Master Class. (Larry Platt)
• The End Of Affirmative Action Must Not Be The End Of Diversity On College Campuses. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• The Supreme Court Has Struck Down Affirmative Action. That Might Help Campus Diversity. (Jonathan Zimmerman)
• Affirmative Action Is Racial Justice. The Supreme Court Ruling Is A Step Backward. (Solomon Jones)
• Affirmative Action Is Gone. Here’s How To Keep Fighting. (Devontae Torriente, Ty Parks)
• What Cecil Rhodes Could Have Taught The Supreme Court About Race. (Peter Kalis)
• The Dark Money Message Behind The Assault On School Choice. (Kevin Mooney)
• Supreme Court Affirms The Truth; Affirmative Action Creates Racial Disharmony. (Michael Austin)
• PA Is Wrong To Fund Crisis-Pregnancy Centers. There Are 7.2M Reasons Why. (Heather MacDonald)
• Let’s Work Together To Connect All Pennsylvanians. (Todd Eachus)

1 Thing

5. Battlefield Returning To 1863 Roots

“It’s been 160 years since Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia ventured into the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg in what became the largest battle ever fought in North America.

Now, more than a century and a half after the Civil War’s seminal three-day battle — from July 1-3, 1863 — officials at the Gettysburg National Military Park continue to ensure the 6,000-acre battlefield remains as close to, if not exactly, the same as it looked then.” (Daily Item)