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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA
Ed Policy Roundup Aug 7, 2017:
PDE Powerpoint: The Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Pennsylvania’s Proposed Consolidated State Plan
August 2, 2017
Lawmakers
move to protect own funds during budget stalemates
Inquirer by MARK
SCOLFORO, The Associated Press Updated: AUGUST
6, 2017 9:51 AM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Tax increase proposals drew most of the
attention when the state Senate approved a package of legislation late last
month designed to bring Pennsylvania's budget stalemate to an end, but
lawmakers also tacked on a provision that would give them more leverage during
any future standoff with the governor. The
bill that passed comfortably and was sent over to the House would enshrine into
law the power to take the type of actions made by lawmakers during a standoff
two years ago, by giving them explicit power to borrow money to pay salary,
benefits and bills if their reserves run dry during drawn-out budget
negotiations. The proposed changes to
the Fiscal Code, long used as a catch-all for budget-related items, said money
"available" to the House or Senate through "a short-term
agreement or other instrument executed with a lending institution" would
be considered "augmenting revenues" and could be used to pay bills
and fund paychecks for lawmakers their staff.
The borrowed money would be deposited with the Treasury Department,
which would then use it to fund the Legislature's costs. It would be paid back
once a deal is done. It's a provision,
said Senate Republican lawyer Drew Crompton, they hope will not have to be used
any time in the near future. Because the $32 billion spending portion of the
budget has been enacted, it won't be needed this year.
“More
than a month past the budget deadline, lawmakers have no agreement on how to
balance or pay for $32 billion in spending that started July 1. This isn’t new. It’s Pennsylvania, where
deadlines, duty, and constitutional requirements are regarded as mere
suggestions.”
Getting
a new Pa. budget; or the art of driving with no hands
Philly.com by John
Baer, STAFF COLUMNIST baerj@phillynews.com Updated: AUGUST 6, 2017 — 12:01 PM EDT
Among way too many news releases flooding my inbox, one last week
caught my eye as a good summation of the budget process. A release from Rep. Rosemary Brown (R.,
Monroe) carried this headline: “Brown Introduces Hands-Free Driving
Legislation.” Perfect. Let’s let
everyone drive their vehicles the way lawmakers drive the budget – trying to
steer with no hands. Now, of course, Brown’s
bill doesn’t call for that. It would ban using hand-held phones while driving
(allowing hands-free devices such as Bluetooth). But the headline hit me as an
apt description of policymaking in Pennsylvania. As in, while Gov. Wolf (the invisible man) isn’t driving anything but his
Jeep, the legislature careers along making policy “hands-free.” Who knows where it’s going or who or what it
hits en route?
GOP
senator wants to bring next generation of school vouchers to Pa.
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated on August 7, 2017 at
6:16 AM Posted on August 7, 2017 at 6:15 AM
Will Pennsylvania become the next state to offer the latest
iteration of a school voucher program? Freshman Sen. John DiSanto, a Republican from Dauphin County, on
Tuesday intends to do his part to make that happen by unveiling his legislation
to establish education savings accounts for those who live in attendance areas
served by low-achieving public schools. The
way these accounts work is the government deposits funds in an account for
parents to use to customize their child's education. The handful of states that
have established these programs target them, at least initially, to a specific
group of students just as DiSanto's proposal would do.
Shrinking
education funding from Harrisburg, and $1B wasted
Intelligencer Opinion By Mark B. Miller August 7, 2017
Mark B. Miller is an elected school
director in Centennial School District, a director of the Network for Public
Education (www.networkforpubliceducation.org) and a former president of the
Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
“The General Assembly shall
provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of
public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”
— (Article III, Section 14, Pennsylvania Constitution)
The premise sounds so simple. Yet, if you ask 10 legislators what
it means, you will get a dozen opinions. If you are a school director, none of
those may be exactly what you want to hear. Some of them may be “close."
That’s the way it’s been for my three terms as an elected school director in
Centennial School District. Let’s begin
with an indisputable fact. Over the last 50 years, the commonwealth’s share of
funding for the cost of providing a free and appropriate public education to
its children has decreased from more than half to roughly one-third. Because of
funding inequities, the portion for Bucks and Montgomery counties is
collectively more like one-fifth. For the third year in a row, despite Gov. Wolf’s good intentions,
we sit with a budget that falls short of money to fund it. Effectively, the
public education portion of the budget is level-funded, as the General Assembly
never addressed “restoring” funds that were cut in the past. Some of the swing is from direct cuts to
funding. A larger factor is the increasing financial burden that comes with the
unfunded mandates passed by the General Assembly over the same period of time.
It’s kind of like having a boarder in your home tell you what to keep in your
refrigerator without contributing to the cost.
Here’s the elephant in both legislative chambers: Of the approximately
$6 billion appropriated for public education, more than $1 billion is wasted
and/or misdirected. If school boards had the ability to reallocate how those
funds were spent, less total money would be needed. As a consequence, because
less money would be needed, the state’s percentage contribution would rise (on
paper), and taxes for our homeowners would remain level.
York Dispatch by Junior Gonzalez,
505-5439/@JuniorG_YDPublished 3:27 p.m. ET Aug.
4, 2017 | Updated 4:43 p.m.
ET Aug. 6, 2017
Upcoming hearings that will determine the fate of Helen Thackston
Charter School will mark the second time in five years that the York
City school board has sought to shutter a charter school. Charters are independent, though publicly funded, schools that
operate by agreements — or “charters” — with the school districts in which they
are based. A 1997 state law authorized
charter schools in Pennsylvania, and at one point York City was home to five of
them. As state and local tax dollars
followed students from the district to charters — nearly 1,000 left the
district over a five-year period — the already financially and academically
troubled district struggled even more. Teachers
were let go en masse, programs were cut and schools were closed. Yet as bad as things were in the district, the school board argued
the situation was worse in one of the charter schools.
The state’s new funding formula gives local district a boost
By Sean P. Ray Titusville Herald Staff Writer Posted: Saturday, August 5, 2017 5:00 am
The Basic Education Funding Formula, passed last summer by the state, is undergoing a trial by fire as school districts adapt to their new levels of state funding. So how did Titusville Area School District make out? According to Business Manager Shawn Sampson, things are looking pretty bright. The school saw a 1.1-percent increase in state funding for this fiscal year. While this is lower than the 2.6-percent increase from last year, Sampson had nothing but praise for the formula. “I think that this formula is the best I’ve seen in years to drive out dollars where they’re needed,” Sampson said. The formula determines the level of state funding a school receives based on numerous factors, including number of minority students, sparsity of population, ability to raise money from taxes, among others. Sampson said this metric ensures a school receives a steady and predictable amount of funding, and better reflects the reality of each district’s situation. “If you’re a school district like us, or Warren County or, especially, Forest county and your students are all spread out, there’s a cost to bringing them all to school,” he said. “The formula accounts for that cost.” The formula, which enjoyed wide bipartisan support, came into being after Pennsylvania was declared as having the highest public school funding gap in the nation in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Gov. Tom Wolf has repeatedly supported increased funding for education, his 2017-18 budget calling for a 1.7-percent increase in basic education funding, and a 2.3-percent increase in special education funding.
However, not all schools are enjoying the formula. According to a recent article in the Journal, of Corry, the Corry Area School District received drastically less funding under the formula than before.
http://www.titusvilleherald.com/news/article_9453709c-7980-11e7-baeb-db03856b354c.html#.WYbAI29bBHo.twitter
University
of Pennsylvania program helps students with disabilities
The notebook by Michael Vinci August 4, 2017 — 12:47pm
Joselito "Josie" Torres is 19 years old, but until
recently he had never made a purchase at a store by himself. He never rode the
subway, nor had he bought a ticket to a museum on his own. But when Torres
attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education VAST
LIFE program for teenagers with disabilities, that all changed. VAST LIFE (which stands for Vocational
Academic Social Skills Training Life Skills Independence Functional
Experiences), is a program that pairs Penn graduate students with high school
students ages 14-21 who have moderate to significant developmental and intellectual
disabilities. The purpose of the program is to help graduate education students
receive the experience they need to meet Pennsylvania requirements for special
education certification, while also helping teenagers with disabilities in the
tri-state area become more independent.
'You
feel helpless': What would Medicaid spending cuts mean for Lancaster County
students?
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer August 7, 2017
For Aaron Freas, the very breaths he takes may not be possible
without Medicaid. Freas, a 19-year-old
student at Lampeter-Strasburg High School who suffers from a complicated case
of spina bifida, is one of the many students in the county who rely on Medicaid
services both at home and in school. If
spending for the federal medical assistance program was cut, as many federal
lawmakers have proposed in recent months, families such as Freas’ as well as
school districts who benefit from it would be fettered by a gaping funding
hole. In the school districts’ case, that would likely be filled by taxpayer
dollars. “You feel helpless,”
Freas’ mother, Janene, said. “We try to get our voice out there and say this
matters. We’re not sure how else to do that.”
What
should America do about its worst public schools? States still don’t seem to
know.
Washington Post By Emma
Brown August 6 at 6:47 PM
Two years after Congress scrapped federal formulas for fixing
troubled schools, states for the most part are producing only the vaguest of
plans to address persistent educational failure. So far, 16 states and the District of Columbia have submitted
proposals for holding schools accountable under the 2015 law known as the Every
Student Succeeds Act. With few exceptions, the blueprints offer none of the
detailed prescriptions for intervention, such as mass teacher firings or
charter-school conversions, that were once standard elements of school reform. Many in the education world, from state
superintendents to teachers unions, applaud this hands-off trend. Each
struggling school faces unique circumstances, in their view, and deserves a
tailored solution shaped by community input — not a top-down directive from
faraway bureaucrats. But others fear a
lack of clear road maps from states is a sign that meaningful change remains
unlikely in schools that most need it.
PSBA Officer Elections: Slate of
Candidates
PSBA Website August 2017
PSBA members seeking election to office for the association were
required to submit a nomination form no later than June 1, 2017, to be
considered. All candidates who properly completed applications by the deadline
are included on the slate of candidates below. In addition, the Leadership
Development Committee met on June 17 at PSBA headquarters in Mechanicsburg to
interview candidates. According to bylaws, the Leadership Development Committee
may determine candidates highly qualified for the office they seek. This is
noted next to each person's name with an asterisk (*).
The
deadline to submit cover letter,
resume and application is August 25, 2017.
PSBA seeking experienced education
leaders: Become an Advocacy Ambassador
POSTED ON JUL 17, 2017 IN PSBA NEWS
PSBA is seeking applications for six Advocacy Ambassadors who
have been involved in day-to-day functions of a school district, on the school
board, or in a school leadership position. The purpose of the PSBA Advocacy
Ambassador program is to facilitate the education and engagement of local
school directors and public education stakeholders through the advocacy
leadership of the ambassadors. Each Advocacy Ambassador will be an active leader
in an assigned section of the state, and is kept up to date on current
legislation and PSBA position based on PSBA priorities to accomplish advocacy
goals. PSBA Advocacy Ambassadors are
independent contractors representing PSBA, and serve as liaisons between PSBA
and their local and federal elected officials. Advocacy Ambassadors also commit
to building strong relationships with PSBA members with the purpose of engaging
the designated members to be active and committed grassroots advocates for
PSBA’s legislative priorities. This is a
9-month independent contractor position with a monthly stipend and potential
renewal for a second year. Successful candidates must commit to the full
9-month contract, agree to fulfill assigned Advocacy Ambassador duties and
responsibilities, and actively participate in conference calls and in-person
meetings
September 19 @ 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM Hilton Reading
Berks County Community Foundation
Panelists:
Carol Corbett Burris: Executive
Director of the Network
for Public Education
Alyson Miles: Deputy Director of Government
Affairs for the American
Federation for Children
James Paul: Senior Policy Analyst at
the Commonwealth Foundation
Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig: Professor
of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and the Director of the Doctorate
in Educational Leadership at California State University Sacramento
Karin Mallett: The WFMZ TV
anchor and reporter returns as the moderator
School choice has been a hot topic in Berks County, in part due to
a lengthy and costly dispute between the Reading School District and I-LEAD Charter
School. The topic has also been in the national spotlight as President
Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have focused on expanding education choice. With this in mind, a
discussion on school choice is being organized as part of Berks County
Community Foundation’s Consider It initiative. State Sen. Judy Schwank and Berks
County Commissioners Chairman Christian Leinbach are co-chairs of this
nonpartisan program, which is designed to promote thoughtful discussion of
divisive local and national issues while maintaining a level of civility among
participants. The next Consider It
Dinner will take place Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at 5 p.m. at the DoubleTree
by Hilton Reading, 701 Penn St., Reading, Pa. Tickets are available
here.
For $10 each, tickets include dinner, the panel discussion, reading
material, and an opportunity to participate in the conversation.
Apply Now for EPLC's 2017-2018 PA Education Policy Fellowship
Program!
Education Policy and Leadership Center
Applications are available now for the 2017-2018 Education
Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). The Education Policy Fellowship Program is sponsored
in Pennsylvania by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). Click here for the
program calendar of sessions. With more than 500
graduates in its first eighteen 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, 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 14-15, 2017 and continues to graduation
in June 2018.
Using Minecraft to Imagine a Better World
and Build It Together.
Saturday, September 16, 2017 or Sunday,
September 17, 2017 at the University of the Sciences, 43rd & Woodland
Avenue, Philadelphia
PCCY, the region’s most
influential advocacy organization for children, leverages the world’s greatest
video game for the year’s most engaging fundraising event for kids. Join us
on Saturday, September 16, 2017 or Sunday,
September 17, 2017 at the University of the Sciences, 43rd & Woodland
Avenue for a fun, creative and unique gaming opportunity.
Education Law Center’s 2017
Annual Celebration
ELC invites you to join us
for our Annual Celebration on September 27 in Philadelphia.
The Annual Celebration will take place this year on September
27, 2017 at The Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia. The
event begins at 5:30 PM. We anticipate more than 300 legal,
corporate, and community supporters joining us for a cocktail reception, silent
auction, and dinner presentation. Our
annual celebrations honor outstanding champions of public education. This proud
tradition continues at this year’s event, when together we will salute these
deserving honorees:
·
PNC Bank: for the signature philanthropic cause of the PNC Foundation, PNC
Grow Up Great, a bilingual $350 million, multi-year early education initiative
to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life;
and its support of the Equal Justice Works Fellowship, which
enables new lawyers to pursue careers in public interest law;
·
Joan Mazzotti: for her 16 years of outstanding leadership as the Executive
Director of Philadelphia Futures, a college access and success program serving
Philadelphia’s low-income, first-generation-to-college students;
·
Dr. Bruce Campbell Jr., PhD: for his invaluable service to ELC, as he rotates out of
the chairman position on our Board of Directors. Dr. Campbell is an Arcadia
University Associate Professor in the School of Education; and
·
ELC Pro Bono Awardee Richard Shephard of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
LLP: for his exceptional work as pro bono counsel, making lasting contributions
to the lives of many vulnerable families.Questions? Contact Tracy Callahan
tcallahan@elc-pa.org or 215-238-6970 ext. 308.
STAY WOKE: THE INAUGURAL
NATIONAL BLACK MALE EDUCATORS CONVENING; Philadelphia Fri, Oct 13, 2017 4:00 pm
Sun, Oct 15, 2017 7:00pm
TEACHER DIVERSITY WORKS. Increasing the number of Black
male educators in our nation’s teacher corps will improve education for all our
students, especially for African-American boys.
Today Black men represent only two percent of teachers nationwide. This
is a national problem that demands a national response. Come participate in the inaugural National
Black Male Educators Convening to advance policy solutions, learn from one
another, and fight for social justice. All are welcome.
Save the Date 2017 PA Principals Association State Conference
October 14. 15, 16, 2017 Doubletree Hotel Cranberry Township, PA
Save the Date: PASA-PSBA
School Leadership Conference October 18-20, Hershey PA
Registration now open for the
67th Annual PASCD Conference Nov. 12-13
Harrisburg: Sparking Innovation: Personalized Learning, STEM, 4C's
This year's conference will begin on Sunday, November 12th
and end on Monday, November 13th. There will also be a free pre-conference on
Saturday, November 11th. You can
register for this year's conference online with a credit card payment or have
an invoice sent to you. Click here to register for the
conference.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/PASCD-Conference-Registration-is-Now-Open.html?soid=1101415141682&aid=5F-ceLtbZDs
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/PASCD-Conference-Registration-is-Now-Open.html?soid=1101415141682&aid=5F-ceLtbZDs
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