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PA Senate Education Committee August 25th Public Hearing on Charter School Legislation SB 904
On Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 10:00 AM Hearing Room 1, North Office Bldg. the Senate Ed Committee will hold a public hearing on Senate Bill No. 904/Charter School legislation
According to the Education Law Center, new charter school bills before the General Assembly (S.B. 904 and H.B. 1348) would repeal Pennsylvania's current charter school/cyber charter school law in its entirety and replace it with language that permits the unfettered expansion of charter schools throughout the state, reduces accountability, and effectively removes all local control of charters, while continuing to redirect millions of dollars of public funding away from traditional public schools – when charters have been shown, on the whole, not to improve student performance any more than traditional public schools and in many charters, students have fared worse.
See the Education Law Center's summary and analysis here: http://www.elc-pa.org/charterreformanalysis.html
Commentary: In a rush for more charter schools?
Questionable Academic Performance and Results for Kids; Great "Gold Standard" Results for Owners, CEOs, Politicians
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/06/commentary-in-rush-for-more-charter.html
Commentary: Why weren't any charter schools included on the Senate Bill 1 list of "persistently failing schools"?
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/02/questions-about-144-failing-schools.html
'Citizen' becomes political player
Sen. Mike Folmer finds that talking about change is easier than making it happen
Lebanon Daily News By JOHN LATIMER, Staff Writer, Updated: 08/13/2011
"I'm a school-choice guy," he told the editorial board. "It is my child. Let me choose where my son or daughter goes to school. I will be the best barometer."
As vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Folmer supports Senate Bill 1, which is sponsored by Piccola, the committee's chairman. The bill, still under consideration by the committee, would phase in school vouchers for low-income students in the next three years.
"I think Senate Bill 1 is just a baby step," he said. "We don't have the money for a full (voucher) program. This just affects those schools in trouble and have been consistently in trouble."
FYI – here are the school districts in Senator Folmer's Senatorial District:
School District
|
County
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ANNVILLE-CLEONA SD
|
LEBANON
|
CONRAD WEISER AREA SD
|
BERKS
|
CORNWALL-LEBANON SD
|
LEBANON
|
DONEGAL SD
|
LANCASTER
|
EASTERN LEBANON COUNTY
|
LEBANON
|
ELIZABETHTOWN AREA SD
|
LANCASTER
|
LEBANON SD
|
LEBANON
|
LOWER DAUPHIN SD
|
DAUPHIN
|
NORTHERN LEBANON SD
|
LEBANON
|
PALMYRA AREA SD
|
LEBANON
|
TULPEHOCKEN AREA SD
|
BERKS
|
TWIN VALLEY SD
|
BERKS
|
UPPER DAUPHIN AREA SD
|
DAUPHIN
|
WILSON SD
|
BERKS
|
WYOMISSING AREA SD
|
BERKS
|
BCTV.ORG OPINION
Dear parents: Your children do not matter
Posted: Monday, August 15, 2011 3:03 pm |Updated: 3:13 pm, Mon Aug 15, 2011.
By Bryan Sanguinito, Reading Education Association (teachers union) president
Dear Parents: your children do not matter.
This is the apparent sentiment of Gov. Tom Corbett and the politicians who just implemented a budget slashing nearly $18 million from the funding the Reading School District will receive this year from the state.
Posted: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 6:00 am
NH-S superintendent gets new contract
Bucks County Courier Times By Amanda Cregan , Staff Writer
After hours of tense debate among parents and school officials, the New Hope-Solebury School District opted to retain its superintendent.
Some have called the move premature and questioned why the board did not wait until after newly elected candidates took their seats in January.
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