Daily postings from the Keystone State
Education Coalition now reach more than 3250 Pennsylvania education
policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and
congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of
Education, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, education
professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies,
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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for June 13, 2014:
Corbett signs legislation
creating panel to develop new school funding formula
Corbett signs legislation
creating panel to develop new school funding formula
By Gideon Bradshaw |
gbradshaw@pennlive.com on June 12, 2014 at 6:43 PM
Legislature to Reform Basic
Educating Funding Formula, O’Neill Says
PA House GOP Caucus website 6/12/2014
Act 51 of 2014 establishes a bipartisan commission to study and make recommendations for a new statewide formula for dispensing funding to
“We applied some of the ideas we found to be very successful in the past to the new commission, this time with a broader aim,” O’Neill said. “Many of our public schools are underfunded, many are overfunded – it’s time we establish a more equitable way of driving out state dollars to the institutions responsible for preparing our young people for the future that awaits them.”
The Basic Education Funding Commission will be comprised of equal representation from the House and Senate majority and minority caucuses, along with representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the governor’s administration. Commission members would be tasked with developing a formula that takes into account each school district’s market value/personal income aid ratio, equalized millage rate, geographic price differences, enrollment levels, local support and other factors.
Lawmakers must enact a fair
special education funding formula: Susan Gobreski and Susan Spicka
PennLive
Op-Ed By Susan Gobreski and Susan Spicka on June 12, 2014 at
12:00 PM
This year, something extraordinary happened in the polarized
Capitol in Harrisburg .
Legislators put aside their partisan differences and came together in a
bipartisan Special Education Funding Commission, which worked to address the
problems in the way that Pennsylvania
funds special education services. They
came together to do what is right for children who need special education
services, to try to fix the law. The
current system is woefully underfunded and tax dollars are not sent to school
districts or charter schools based on the actual costs of the services students
receive. After months of working with
families of children with special needs and other stakeholders, the Commission
created a thoroughly-planned, fair, and new system that would allocate state
tax dollars to ALL public schools in Pennsylvania
the same way, based on students' needs. Unfortunately,
all of the Commission's hard work may be derailed and this common sense
legislation, which is known as the "special education funding and
accountability reform bill" might be left on the side of the road.
Pennsylvania likely to
pivot on shale tax, insiders say
Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review By Brad
Bumsted Published: Thursday, June 12, 2014, 10:57 p.m.
Updated 5 hours ago
Updated 5 hours ago
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette June 12, 2014 11:58 PM
The first official
results of a new classroom teacher performance ratings system in Pittsburgh
Public Schools found more teachers are considered distinguished and fewer are
failing than in a dry run last year. The
ratings, given individually to teachers Thursday and released in aggregate
today, show 96.9 percent of 1,721 teachers were rated distinguished or
advanced.
There are 28 teachers — 1.6
percent — who are considered failing and were given unsatisfactory
ratings. They will be given a chance to improve, including extra help. If they
get another failing rating during the next school year, they will be fired.
Mayor calls Council action on
school funding 'unfortunate,' would support more
Notebook By Dale
Mezzacappa on Jun 12, 2014 05:26 PM
Kids vs. politics
Notebook By Helen
Gym on Jun 12, 2014 04:16 PM
City Council yesterday proved once again that Philadelphia ’s schoolchildren come second to
politicking. Instead of following through on its promise to guarantee the
District at least $50 million -- a promise it made last August, when
Superintendent William Hite refused to open schools otherwise -- City
Council’s finance committee moved forward with a bill to halve that amount to
$27 million. It seems inconceivable for
Council to behave in this manner, especially at a time when District finances
have never been more dire. If City Council doesn’t move on filling the basic
budget gap, the District will be forced to pass an obscene budget that will lay
off staff and see class sizes go through the roof. The PR damage and the
loss of internal capacity at the District is not something that can be made up
even if Council were to later piece together funds over the summer.
Corbett: Decoy, what decoy?
Philly Daily News Attytood Blog by Will Bunch : THURSDAY,
JUNE 12, 2014, 6:06 PM
So guess who I ran into last night? A few minutes before his
first joint appearance with his newly minted fall rival Democrat Tom Wolf, here
in Philly at the Crystal Tea Room, there was Gov. Corbett and, give him credit:
Unlike, ahem, some governors who blow in and out of events at 110-mph, Pa's
commander-in-chief was relaxed, not surrounded by security, and willing to chat
with all comers.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Corbett-Decoy-what-decoy.html#SI0m4sKbSI2GCxQ5.99
Judge orders PA Cyber to
comply with open records ruling
Beaver Times Online By J.D. Prose jprose@timesonline.com | 0 comments
Published: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 11:29 am | Updated:
12:27 am, Thu Jun 12, 2014.
MIDLAND — A Beaver County judge has ordered the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter
School
What's cookin' in the schools
Doylestown Intelligencer
Editorial Posted: Friday, June 13, 2014 12:15 am
The flap that’s
developed over new school breakfast and lunch standards championed by first
lady Michelle Obama is not about the need to get kids to eat better. There’s
little dispute that the calorie-laden, sodium-rich and sugary foods
traditionally offered in many if not most school cafeterias are not on anyone’s
list of wholesome, nutritionally balanced meals. With childhood obesity the
serious problem it is, and with too many young people developing poor eating
habits that last a lifetime, Mrs. Obama has lobbied hard to make sure that at
least the food served in school lunch lines contributes to students’ overall
good health. Congress and the
administration have come up with school food guidelines that require more
fruits, vegetables and whole grains on students’ trays, while placing limits on
sodium, sugar and fat.
Too bad it’s not so easy
to ensure a better diet for school kids.
After a two-year pay freeze, teachers in Manheim Township
The contract calls for a 2.95 percent salary increase for the
2014-15 school year, a 2.9 percent increase in 2015 and a 2.75 percent increase
in 2016.
Downingtown schools adopt
no-tax-increase budget
By Ginger Dunbar, Daily Local News POSTED: 06/12/14, 7:34 PM EDT |
Quakertown graduates question
school board president's political speech during ceremony
They're miffed that school board president used ceremony to
air his views on abortion, climate change.
By Jacqueline Palochko, Of The Morning Call 11:05 p.m.
EDT, June 12, 2014
New graduates are questioning why the president of the
Quakertown Community School Board used Wednesday's graduation ceremony as a
political forum to air his views on topics such as climate change and abortion. Graduates, fellow students and others at the
ceremony said Paul Stepanoff questioned whether global warming is happening and
complained that the eggs of sea turtles have more protection than human
embryos. He also spoke about government intrusion.
The speech upset members of the Class of 2014, who felt their
ceremony was not the time or place to bring up politics, and brought angry
parents to the school board's meeting Thursday night.
Allentown teacher attrition
to save some jobs, but budget concerns remain
By Colin McEvoy
| The Express-Times on June 12, 2014 at 10:02 PM
Even if the Allentown
School Districteliminates all 74 teaching positions they are considering
cutting, no more than 60 people would actually lose their jobs. Superintendent Russell
Mayo said tonight at least 14 teachers have said they will retire,
meaning that number of positions will be eliminated through attrition rather
than layoffs. Unlike last year, the
district no longer has a deadline for retirements to be submitted, so he
expects more teacher retirements to be announced in upcoming weeks, which would
save even more people’s jobs.
Gates Foundation Backs
Two-Year Accountability Delay Under Common Core
UPDATED The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced
its support for a two-year moratorium on tying results from assessments aligned
to the Common Core State Standards to
teacher evaluations or student promotions to the next grade level. The June 10 statement from Vicki Phillips,
the Gates Foundation's director of college-ready programs, said that while
the common core is having a very positive impact on education, that doesn't
mean teachers and schools shouldn't be given more time to adjust. Phillips stressed that the Gates Foundation
has repeatedly heard that teachers are simultaneously enthusiastic about the
common core but anxious about the challenges associated with the standards.
Congress: House Delays Vote
on Easing School Meal Standards
New York Times By EMMARIE HUETTEMAN and RON NIXON JUNE 12, 2014
WASHINGTON — A House vote on an Agriculture Department spending
bill containing a provision that would allow schools to opt out of the Obama
administration’s nutrition standards for school meals has been delayed until
sometime next week, a senior Republican aide said Thursday. The vote, which had been expected Thursday,
was delayed as lawmakers redirected their attention to next week’s leadership
elections, the aide said. Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia announced Wednesday that he would
resign as majority leader after his unexpected primary loss, prompting a
scramble to replace him.
IS PENNSYLVANIA
Education Voters of Pennsylvania, the NAACP and the Keystone
State Education Coalition are sponsoring a public meeting with speakers from
the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and
the Education Law Center.
When: Monday June 16th, 6-7 PM
Where: Delaware County Community College Southeast Center,
Room 135
2000 Elmwood
Ave, Sharon Hill, PA 19079
Learn about how a statewide legal strategy could help students
in William Penn, Southeast Delco and neighboring districts and how you
might participate. Legal experts and attorneys will be present to
talk about the law, your children’s rights and a potential lawsuit against the
state of Pennsylvania based on the state Constitutional requirement to
provide an education.
More info: http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2014/06/is-pennsylvanias-system-of-school.html
Come to Harrisburg to Speak
Up for Public Education
Wednesday, June 18, Monday, June 23, and Monday, June 30
Education Voters PA
Governor Corbett’s “election-year” budget is falling apart.
Revenue projections are down and Corbett and state legislators are looking to
make more than $1.2 billion in cuts to his proposed 2014-2015
budget. Lobbyists will be swarming the
Capitol in the month of June and we need to be there, too. Join Pennsylvanians from throughout the
commonwealth as we send a loud and clear message that after three years of
balancing the state budget on the backs of Pennsylvania’s public school
children, it is time for our state government to do what is right and pass a
fair budget that will provide students with the opportunities they need to meet
state standards and be successful after they graduate.
Details: http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6041/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7059
PA Basic Ed. Funding
Campaign: Building capacity to advocate for adequate, equitable school funding
PSBA website 6/10/2014
The Pennsylvania Basic Education Funding Campaign seeks up to
ten (10) regional "circuit riders" statewide to work with and support
school system leaders to build capacity and advocate for an adequate and
equitable school funding system.
Regional Circuit Riders Contract Employment Announcement
The Pennsylvania Basic Education Funding Campaign seeks up to
ten (10) regional "circuit riders" statewide to work with and support
school system leaders to build capacity and advocate for an adequate and
equitable school funding system. Circuit riders will support school system
leaders by providing education and training about past and current school
funding systems, principles and models of good school funding systems and
effective advocacy strategies using information and materials provided by the
Campaign. School system leaders include school directors, Intermediate Unit
executive directors, district superintendents, business managers and other key
school district leaders. Building
capacity among Pennsylvania school system
leaders to advocate for an adequate and equitable school funding system is one
component of a broader multi-year effort that involves more than 25
organizations across Pennsylvania .
This component is a collaborative effort of the PA Association of School
Business Officials (PASBO), PA Association of School Administrators (PASA), PA
School Boards Association (PSBA), PA Association of Rural and Small Schools
(PARSS) and PA Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU). PASBO serves as the
fiscal agent for the collaborative.
- See more at: http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/details.asp?id=7943#sthash.rYZzUteD.dpuf
Cloaking
Inequity Blog by Julian
Vasquez Heilig May 23, 2014 | | 1
Comment
WE NEED YOUR HELP! Do you believe in public education? Do you
want US policymakers to understand why decision makers in Chile have now
judged vouchers to be problematic after 30 years of universal implementation?
Do you have frequent flier miles you can donate? Sponsor a grad student
today! This summer, I along with eight
UT-Austin graduate students will travel to Santiago, Chile in August 2014 with
Professor Julian Vasquez Heilig to conduct field research that will result in a
policy brief, op-eds and a peer-reviewed academic paper detailing recent changes in
Chile’s market-based education policy proposed this past April by Chile’s
current Education Minister Nicholas Eyzaguirre.
PSBA opens nominations for
the Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award
The nomination process is now open for the Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award. This award may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions in PSBA’s Legislative Platform. Applications will be accepted until July 16, 2014. The July 16 date was picked in honor of Timothy M. Allwein's birthday. The award will be presented during the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in October. More details and application are available on PSBA's website.
The nomination process is now open for the Timothy M. Allwein Advocacy Award. This award may be presented annually to the individual school director or entire school board to recognize outstanding leadership in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of public education and students that are consistent with the positions in PSBA’s Legislative Platform. Applications will be accepted until July 16, 2014. The July 16 date was picked in honor of Timothy M. Allwein's birthday. The award will be presented during the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in October. More details and application are available on PSBA's website.
Education
Policy and Leadership Center
Click
here to read more about EPLC’s Education Policy Fellowship Program, including:
2014-15 Schedule 2014-15 Application Past Speakers Program Alumni And More
Information
2014 PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education
and Arts/Culture in PA
Education Policy and Leadership Center
Below is an alphabetical list of the 2014
Gubernatorial Candidates and links to information about their plans, if
elected, for education and arts/culture in Pennsylvania. This list will be updated, as more
information becomes available.
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