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Keystone State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for July 23, 2015:
Education Groups to
Leaders in Congress: Get ESEA Rewrite Over Finish Line
Interested in letting our elected leadership know your thoughts on
education funding, a severance tax, property taxes and the budget?
Governor Tom Wolf, (717) 787-2500
Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Turzai, (717) 772-9943
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed, (717) 705-7173
Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, (717) 787-7084
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, (717) 787-1377
PA Lowest Performing
Schools: Before reform, fund properly
Philly.com By Adam
Schott and David Lapp
POSTED: Thursday, July 23, 2015, 1:08 AM
Adam Schott is director of policy research at
Research for Action.
David Lapp is a staff attorney at the Education Law Center
Earlier this summer,
the state Senate advanced a far-reaching proposal to put public schools with
low test scores under direct state control. As evidenced by statements by Sen.
Anthony Hardy Williams (D., Phila.) and others, the legislation appears likely
to be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations around Gov. Wolf's request that
significant resources be added to the state's education budget. In support of the legislation, lawmakers and
some advocacy organizations have cited school turnarounds in Louisiana ,
Massachusetts , and Tennessee . But comparisons to these other
states require close scrutiny. First,
there's the issue of resources. While supporters of
state takeover legislation have properly argued that money alone can't cure
what ails the state's lowest-performing schools, it is also true that Pennsylvania public
schools have endured more than five years of inadequate, unpredictable state
funding. We have a practice in Pennsylvania
of expecting our public schools to do more while providing schools and students
with less.
For some Pa.
WHYY Newsworks BY MARY WILSON JULY 22, 2015
"Enrollment at PA
Cyber has declined from its
peak in 2013 of 11,500 to about 10,000. Conti said fluctuating
enrollment is due in part to increased competition from some local school
districts offering online learning options, along with some consolidation among
students and families."
PA Cyber lays off 43 employees,
including 21 teachers
Beaver County Times Staff reports Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 10:15 am | Updated: 4:14 pm, Tue Jul 21, 2015.
NSBA Joins Key Education Groups in Urging Congress to
Push Forward to Fix No Child Left Behind
NSBA Press Release July 22, 2015
Alexandria, Va.
(July 22, 2015) - The National School Boards Association (NSBA) and nine other
national education organizations sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner,
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid urging them to proceed to conference as soon
as possible to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
The joint letter calls upon Congress to act swiftly, and press forward on ESEA
reauthorization by the start of the new school year. With both the House
and Senate having passed their respective education bills, NSBA remains
steadfast in working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to pass a final
bill that restores community ownership to local school boards, maximizes
federal funding for Title I, and excludes private vouchers, tuition tax
credits, or existing voucher programs. “Today's collective
call to action by NSBA and other leading education groups keeps the interests
of our nation’s 50 million public school students at the forefront of the
legislative debate here in Washington,” stated Thomas J. Gentzel, NSBA
Executive Director. “We are pleased that the House and Senate passed their
respective fix for No Child Left Behind, and NSBA calls upon lawmakers to act
now to pass a bill that underscores the importance of local governance and
community ownership in public education.”
Education Groups to
Leaders in Congress: Get ESEA Rewrite Over Finish Line
Education Week
Politics K-12 Blog By Lauren Camera on July 22, 2015 10:16 AM
The same 10 major
education organizations that called for the Senate to prioritize the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act rewrite and put it on the chamber floor for
debate are at it again. This time, they're urging congressional leaders to move
swiftly into conference. In a letter sent
Wednesday to the majority and minority leaders in both the House and the
Senate, as well as the chairmen and ranking members of each chambers' education
committee, the education groups insisted that they "build on the momentum
generated this month around ESEA reauthorization by proceeding to conference as
soon as possible." The groups
include, among others, the two national teachers' unions—the National Education
Association and the American Federation of Teachers—the Council of Chief State
School Officers, the School Superintendents Association (AASA), and the
National Association of State Boards of Education.
"We are now
closer than we have been in the last eight years to producing a new law as both
houses of Congress have passed ESEA reauthorization proposals," the letter
reads. "However, as you are well aware, there is still more work to be
done before we reach our goal."
You can read the
entire letter here.
Ten National Education Groups Urge Congress to Keep Up
Momentum on ESEA Reauthorization
- American
Federation of Teachers
- National
Education Association
- The
School Superintendents Association
- National
Association of Secondary School Principals
- Council
of
- Association
of School Business Officials
- International
National Association of Elementary School Principals
- National
School Boards Association
- National
Parent Teacher Association
- National
Association of State Boards of Education
July 22, 2015
Dear Speaker Boehner, Representative Pelosi, Senator
McConnell, and Senator Reid:
The ten undersigned national education groups, representing
educators, principals, school boards, superintendents, chief state school
officers, state boards of education members, parents and PTAs, and school
business officials appreciate your strong commitment to reauthorizing the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) this year. As we stated at a
joint press conference in June, America ’s
children, educators and parents cannot wait for a reauthorized ESEA. This bill
is long overdue, and we do not have a moment to waste. We are now closer than
we have been in the last 8 years to producing a new law as both Houses of Congress
have passed ESEA reauthorization proposals. However, as you are well aware,
there is still more work to be done before we reach our goal. To this end, we
strongly urge you to build on the momentum generated this month around ESEA
reauthorization by proceeding to conference as soon as possible.
How The Big New Education Law Could Cut Testing Time
NPR by Anya Kamanetz
JULY 22, 2015 8:03 AM ET
Both houses of
Congress have
now passed versions of the bill that would update the largest federal
education law, known as No Child Left Behind, for the first time since 2001.
They are big, meaty and complicated, and now they have to be reconciled into
one messy Dagwood sandwich of a bill to go to the president. There's one slice in the pile that hasn't
been widely discussed. The Senate version of the bill contains several
amendments aimed at addressing one of the hottest issues in education:
standardized testing. "This bill would ... reduce the burden of testing on
classroom time," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in his
official statement about the Senate bill. At first glance that seemed to me like a
surprising claim. After all, the bedrock federal requirement remains in place:
testing every student, every year, in math and reading, from grades three
through eight and once in high school. However,
while the law required, and still requires, annual testing, it doesn't specify
how much or for how long. While the federal testing mandate remains, the new
bill would encourage states to reconsider how that testing is implemented. In other words, "test every kid every
year" might not necessarily mean testing them for weeks on end.
The Contours of a Deal on
ESEA Are In Sight
EducationNext.org By Michael J. Petrilli 07/21/2015
As everyone knows,
the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education act is closer to
the finish line now than at any time in the past eight years. (The law was due
for an update in 2007—soon after NASA sent New Horizons to Pluto. That was
a long time ago.)
For a great overview
of where things stand, it’s hard to beat this excellent rundown by Alyson Klein of Politics
K-12. But that won’t stop me from trotting out my ever-so-popular
color-coded table. (Previous editions here, here, and here.) The items
that are “up in the air” are those that the Senate, House, and Obama
administration will wrangle over in conference.
NPE Statement on the Every
Child Achieves Act
Network for Public
Education July 2015
There is much we
applaud in the Every
Child Achieves Act (ECAA). Although the bill is far from perfect, it
is better than the status quo. ECAA represents a critical step forward,
placing an absolute ban on the federal government intervening in how states
evaluate schools and teachers. It bars the US Department of Education from
either requiring or incentivizing states to adopt any particular set of
standards, as Arne Duncan did through Race to the Top grants and NCLB waivers. The Every Child Achieves Act would prohibit
the federal government from requiring that teachers be judged by student test
scores and would prevent the federal government from withholding funds from
states that allow parents to opt out of testing, which Duncan
most recently threatened to do to the state of Oregon. And it would take the federal “high-stakes”
from annual testing—the consequences of which have a disparate negative impact
on students of color and those of highest need.
ECAA does not “lock in” the Common Core, but rather allows the states to
set their own standards without having to meet a litmus test set by the federal
government. States could thoughtfully design and revise standards and
their teacher evaluation systems with stakeholders, without fear of losing a
waiver that protects their schools from being labeled as failing.
Connellsville receives
visit from Gov. Tom Wolf on his 'Schools That Teach' tour
Herald Standard By Natalie Bruzda nbruzda@heraldstandard.com Posted: Wednesday,
July 22, 2015 2:30 am | Updated:
6:50 am, Wed Jul 22, 2015.
CONNELLSVILLE —
Connellsville Area High School on Tuesday became the latest district
to receive a visit from Gov. Tom Wolf on his “Schools That Teach” Tour. He said his visit, which came in the midst of
the current state budget impasse, was a stop on his way back to Harrisburg , where he said he’s committed to passing a
budget that addresses core issues facing Pennsylvania ,
including the education system. “I think
all of us recognize in Harrisburg
that we have to do right by our education system,” Wolf said. “We’re not going
to have a future if we don’t do that.” Wolf
said he chose to speak at Connellsville, a district that recently furloughed 39
teachers, because it is a “great example a school that is struggling under the
system we have now.” “We need a better
system,” Wolf said.
Wolf school tour stops in
Connellsville
Trib Live By Karl
Polacek Wednesday, July 22, 2015, 1:06 a.m.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday laid out his program for funding Pennsylvania schools during a visit to Connellsville Area High School during his “Schools That Teach” tour. Standing in the hot sun in front of the high school, Wolf said the problems facingConnellsville Area
School District
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday laid out his program for funding Pennsylvania schools during a visit to Connellsville Area High School during his “Schools That Teach” tour. Standing in the hot sun in front of the high school, Wolf said the problems facing
"A member of the Senate
Education Committee, Folmer recently finished work as one of 15 members on the
bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission that came up with recommendations
to more fairly fund education to close a gap between wealthy suburban districts
and poorer rural and urban schools.
"We got to a point where we came up with a fairer way to distribute
the education dollars," he said. "At least we have done that. But we
have to get that passed."
Sen. Mike Folmer weighs in
on state budget impasse
Lebanon Daily News By John Latimer johnlatimer@ldnews.com @johnmlatimer
on Twitter UPDATED: 07/22/2015
06:09:22 PM EDT
Sen. Mike Folmer's
presentation at Wednesday's Community of Lebanon Association luncheon focused
on his effort to legalize medical marijuana.
But afterwards he had plenty to say about the state budget impasse that
is in its third week, since Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a $30 billion spending package
approved by the Republican-dominated Legislature. The governor followed that up by vetoing
GOP-backed pension reform and liquor privatization bills, causing a showdown
with Republicans that has not been resolved.
Folmer, a Republican, said after weeks of finger-pointing and political
posturing by both sides, he saw some signs of encouragement when GOP leaders
sat down with Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday. "I
heard they had a decent meeting (Tuesday). Up until then, it was the great
divide," he said.
Time for Pa.
By Express-Times guest
columnist By Mike
Schlossberg and Peter Schweyer Pa.
state representatives on July 20, 2015 at 12:41 PM
As we write this,
about two weeks have passed since the Republican majority in the Pennsylvania
General Assemblypassed a budget bill,
which Gov. Tom Wolf quickly
vetoed. Since then,
Pennsylvanians have heard a lot of rhetoric about the supposed quality of the
spending plan or the righteousness of the veto, but we want to address some
inescapable facts not up for debate. The Allentown School District
SEN. THOMAS J. McGARRIGLE:
Gov. Wolf’s political attack ads don’t work
State Sen. Thomas J. McGarrigle is a
Republican who represents the 26th Senatorial District in parts of Chester and Delaware
It is time for Gov.
Tom Wolf to end the negative campaigning and begin working with the General
Assembly. Nine months after the 2014 General Election and he is still sending
out negative ads peppered with inaccuracies and the same tiresome rhetoric. His mailer claims I am looking to “give
hand-outs to big oil and gas companies” at the expense of educating our
children. Governor Wolf is clearly unaware then of Senate Bill 519. This is the
bill I introduced in the Senate, 13 days after taking the oath of office, that
would establish a 4-percent tax on the Marcellus Shale industry and dedicate
that funding to our state’s public education system. The governor’s mailers claim that I do not
support providing property tax relief. Yet I am a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 76,
a bill that aims to eliminate property taxes. His proposal would merely reduce
them and provide no mechanism to prevent them from going back up in the future. There is no defense of the governor’s
short-sighted veto of a proposed budget I voted for that would have boosted
support for schools by $500 million without his massive tax increases. There is
no explanation for vetoing the entire budget – something no governor has done
in 40 years — even when there was bipartisan agreement on two-thirds of budget.
In an act of political gamesmanship, the Governor has held the entire State
hostage.
Chris Freind: Gov. Wolf’s
budget plan is unacceptable
Delco Times Opinion By Chris Friend, Times Columnist POSTED: 07/21/15, 11:08 PM EDT
Who’s afraid of the
big, bad (Tom) Wolf? Not the Republican
Legislature.
House takes procedural
step with eye toward a budget agreement
The PLS Reporter Author: Jason Gottesman/Wednesday, July
22, 2015
The House
Appropriations Committee took a step Wednesday to put a budget vehicle into
place for the eventuality of an agreed-to budget plan between Republicans and
Gov. Tom Wolf. House Bill 1460
cleared the committee along a party-line vote and contains the exact same
language as the budget bill passed by the General Assembly and vetoed by Gov.
Wolf just over three weeks ago. While an
agreement still seems to be a ways off, committee Chairman Bill Adolph
(R-Delaware) said the move was necessary as part of House rules in order to
make sure an agreed-to product can be considered in a timely manner. “House rules require the posting of a General
Appropriations bill for second consideration, it takes about two weeks in
advance of when this bill will actually be voted on the floor,” he told
committee members. “We are voting House Bill 1460 today so we can get it a
first reading and get it in position for second consideration whenever we’re
able to reach a negotiated agreement with the administration.” He called the bill a
document that can later be amended to reflect a budget deal.
House panel passes budget
bill but don't get your hopes up. It's not done yet.
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Email
the author | Follow on Twitter on July 22,
2015 at 2:18 PM, updated July 22, 2015 at 2:19 PM
Don't be fooled by
the House Appropriations Committee's approval of a budget bill on Wednesday. It
doesn't mean an end to the 22-day-old budget stalemate is in sight.
The committee's
21-11 party-line vote was merely a procedural move to speed up the process in
passing an eventual budget agreement – or possibly a stopgap budget – when the
time comes. The state has been
operating since July 1 without an enacted budget. Republican leaders of the
GOP-controlled House and Senate and Gov. Tom Wolf met on Tuesday and reported some progress
in narrowing their differences or at least gaining an
understanding of the justifications behind their positions but there's no deal
yet. The $30.2 billion spending
plan contained in the bill is identical to the one that passed
the House and Senate late
last month and subsequently
vetoed in its entirety by Gov. Tom Wolf. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman
Bill Adolph, R-Delaware, told committee members that it takes about two weeks
to move a bill into position for a final vote in the chamber so getting House Bill 1460 through
the committee will shave off a few days when an agreement is reached.
Talks continue on Wilkinsburg sending students to Pittsburgh
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
July 22, 2015 10:11 PM
While no agreement
has been reached on whether Wilkinsburg can
send its high school students to Pittsburgh Public Schools, talks are
continuing and appear to be serious. "Pittsburgh is open to working out a way to do it,"
said Pittsburgh
school solicitor Ira Weiss after a city school board meeting tonight.
"That's why we're talking to them."
Pittsburgh
school board member Mark Brentley Sr. raised the issue during the meeting,
saying he wishes the move could take place this fall. He called it a win-win,
given Wilkinsburg is looking for a partner and Pittsburgh needs students. He urged the
district to "open our arms."
West Chester Daily Local By Eric Devlin, edevlin@21st-centurymedia.com, @Eric_Devlin on Twitter POSTED: 07/21/15, 6:51 PM EDT
Phoenixville
>> After traveling halfway around the world to participate in arguably
the biggest competition of their lives, the members of the International Young
Physicists Tournament from Phoenixville High School are taking a much needed
break. But that hasn’t stopped Superintendent Alan Fegley from gushing about
the team’s success. “They did very, very
well,” he said. “We’re very pleased. They came in right in the middle of the
pack, which is a wonderful location for them to be in.” Thirty-two teams from around the globe
descended upon Korat , Thailand United States
in the tournament since 2007. The competition ran from June 27 through July 4. Best described as part science fair, part debate competition,
the tournament is composed of teams going head-to-head in discussion-based
sessions called ‘Physics Fights.’ There’s no final exam in this
competition. To win the tournament, teams present the results of the work
they’ve done to try to solve 17 non-examination research problems. Judges then
score points to the team that can best explain its research, or to the team
that manages to poke the most holes in the results of the research done by
others.
Scaled-Back FERPA Overhaul
Introduced in U.S.
Education Week
Digital Education Blog By Benjamin Herold on July 22, 2015 9:43
PM
Long-awaited
bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
Wednesday would significantly reshape the country's most prominent
student-data-privacy law, but stop short of the radical makeover that lawmakers
had proposed earlier this spring.
The "Student Privacy Protection Act"
aims to expand the scope of student information that is protected by law, place
new obligations on both educational institutions and third parties who handle
that information, and ban the use of such information for direct advertising to
students. It would also allow for fines of up to $1.5 million on educational
institutions that violate the law. The bill, if
enacted, would represent a meaningful update to the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act. As currently written, FERPA, as the 41-year old law is
commonly known, is widely viewed as inadequate for addressing the privacy
challenges presented by the flood of digital devices, software, and apps into
U.S. schools over the past decade.
Call In Day July 29th - Urgent: Budget stalemate hurting
schools. Contact your legislators.
On Wednesday, July 29, the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, in
collaboration with the Campaign for Fair Education Funding and Education
Voters-PA, will be participating in a statewide call-in day to contact our
legislators. Pennsylvania students will begin going back to school in
just a month and state lawmakers still have not passed a budget. Please set aside 10 minutes on Wednesday, July 29 to call your
state legislators to tell them that we need them to go back to Harrisburg and put Pennsylvania 's children
first by passing a budget that begins to solve the school funding
crisis. To find your legislators, follow this link.
We know that just 10
calls in a day to one legislator can make a difference in what he or she
does. Please make two phone calls
and make a difference for children this year!
Nominations for PSBA's
Allwein Advocacy Award now open
PSBA July 7, 2015
PSBA July 7, 2015
The Timothy M.
Allwein Advocacy Award was established in 2011 by the Pennsylvania School
Boards Association and 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. The 2015 Allwein Award nomination process
will close on Aug. 28, 2015. The 2015 Allwein Award Nomination Form is available online. More details on the
award and nominations process can be found online.
Save the Date for PASA-PSBA School
Save the date for the
professional development event of the year. Be inspired at more than four
exciting venues and invest in professional development for top administrators
and school board members. Online registration will be live soon!
Register Now – PAESSP
State Conference – Oct. 18-20 – State College, PA
Registration is now
open for PAESSP's State Conference to be held October 18-20 at The
Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, PA! This year's
theme is @EVERYLEADER and features three nationally-known keynote
speakers (Dr. James Stronge, Justin Baeder and Dr. Mike Schmoker), professional
breakout sessions, a legal update, exhibits, Tech Learning Labs and many
opportunities to network with your colleagues (Monday evening event with Jay
Paterno). Once again, in conjunction
with its conference, PAESSP will offer two 30-hour Act 45 PIL-approved
programs, Linking Student Learning to Teacher Supervision and Evaluation
(pre-conference offering on 10/17/15); and Improving Student Learning
Through Research-Based Practices: The Power of an Effective Principal (held
during the conference, 10/18/15 -10/20/15). Register for either or both PIL
programs when you register for the Full Conference!
REGISTER TODAY for
the Conference and Act 45 PIL program/s at:
Apply
now for EPLC’s 2015-2016 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Applications are
available now for the 2015-2016 Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored in
Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). With more than 400 graduates in its
first sixteen years, this Program is a premier professional development opportunity
for educators, state and local policymakers, advocates, and community
leaders. State Board of Accountancy (SBA) credits are available to
certified public accountants. Past
participants include state policymakers, district superintendents and principals,
charter school leaders, school business officers, school board members,
education deans/chairs, statewide association leaders, parent leaders,
education advocates, and other education and community leaders. Fellows
are typically sponsored by their employer or another organization. The Fellowship Program begins with a two-day
retreat on September 17-18, 2015 and continues to graduation in June
2016.
Click here to read about
the Education Policy Fellowship Program.
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