Started in November 2010, daily postings from the Keystone State
Education Coalition now reach more than 4050 Pennsylvania education
policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and
congressional staffers, Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of
Education, Wolf education transition team members, superintendents, school solicitors,
principals, charter school leaders, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher
leaders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, labor organizations,
education professors, members of the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory
agencies, professional associations and education advocacy organizations via
emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
PA Ed Policy Roundup July 17, 2019
“Getting back to what he signaled will
be his focus going forward to help build what he termed the nation’s strongest
workforce, he wants to find a way to increase the amount of basic education
dollars distributed through the fair funding formula that the state adopted in
2016. Currently, just more than 11 percent – or $700 million – of the $6.25
billion earmarked in the state budget for basic education is doled out using
the new formula that takes into account each district’s socioeconomic factors,
according to the state Department of Education. Since only additional funding
added since 2016-17 is distributed through the new formula, Wolf said, “if we
keep doing it the way we’ve been doing it, it’s going to take a long, long
time.”
Gov. Tom Wolf’s ‘dream for a better Pa.’ includes fairer
distribution of funding for schools, charter school reforms
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated 5:58 AM; Today 5:00 AM
Gov. Tom Wolf was
hailed as a public education hero by advocates for public schools on Tuesday as
they gathered to celebrate the historic increases in funding included in the 2019-20
budget. But Wolf
made it clear that despite pushing the lifeblood of state funding to school
districts to a new high-water mark of $6.2 billion, he’s not done yet. He wants
to see more of those basic education dollars to school districts get
distributed through the state’s fair funding formula. He also wants to address
concerns related to cyber charter schools, which he referred to as “the growing
cost of privatization of education in our public schools.” Along with that, he
wants to see the commitment he has made to public education continue. “This is
my dream for a better Pennsylvania,” he said. “Education is at the heart of it
and I’m not going to let up until we have the best educational system
possible.” That was music to the ears of those public education advocates
surrounding him.
Penn Live By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Today 7:00 AM
The finalized $34
billion state budget includes more than $6.2 billion in direct support to help
fund school districts’ basic operation in 2019-20. Most districts are estimated
to receive an increase although a half dozen receive less than a 1 percent cut
with Clarion-Limestone Area School District in Clarion County being cut the
most. On the other end, York Suburban School District in York County appears to
receive the greatest increase at 16.1 percent. Use this searchable database to
see how much state funding your school district is estimated to receive for
basic education this year.
PSBA Members: Watch
Highlights of the 2019-2020 state budget, School Code bills
How will the new
state budget and changes to the School Code affect districts across
Pennsylvania? Get details on education funding, PlanCon updates, school safety bills and more! Watch it here: For an in-depth look at the budget
updates, members may login to myPSBA.org to watch a replay of the State Budget webcast (recorded July 9).
“The chart below lists
over $470,000 in campaign contributions made by Mr. and Mrs. Gureghian for PA
state offices from 2013 through 2019. Highlights include $205,000 to the House
Republican Campaign Committee, $37,000 to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee,
$30,000 to House Speaker Mike Turzai, $82,000 to Senate Majority Leader Jake
Corman’s Build PA PAC, $85,000 to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati
and$16,000 to House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler.”
Follow the Money:
Campaign Contributions by Vahan Gureghian 2013-2019; the intersection of money,
politics, government and schools
Keystone State
Education Coalition PA Ed Policy Roundup July 16, 2019
“The chart below lists over $600,000 in campaign contributions
made by Mr. Karp and UCH for PA state offices from 2016 through 2019. Highlights
include $280,000 to the House Republican Campaign Committee, $160,000 to the
Senate Republican Campaign Committee, $100,000 to House Speaker Mike Turzai,
$25,000 to Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman’s Build PA PAC, $25,000 to Senate
President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, $25,000 to House Majority Leader Bryan
Cutler, $10,000 to Senate Appropriations Majority Chairman Pat Browne and, for
good measure, $10,000 to Senate Appropriations Minority Chairman Vincent
Hughes, $10,000 to the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee and $2500 to
Governor Wolf’s Wolf PAC.”
Follow the Money:
Charter Operator Cost of Doing Business?
Keystone State
Education Coalition PA Ed Policy Roundup July 10, 2019
http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2019/07/pa-ed-policy-roundup-july-10-follow.html
College isn’t for
everybody, Pennsylvania lawmakers hear
By JACQUELINE PALOCHKO THE MORNING CALL | JUL 16, 2019 | 7:44 PM
Out of the 5,200
high school students in the Allentown School District, just 15% are exposed to
career and technical education. For a district the size of Allentown, which
enrolls 17,000 students from kindergarten to 12th grade, to have just 800
attend Lehigh Career and Technical Institute is low, Superintendent Thomas
Parker told state legislators Tuesday afternoon. To increase that number,
Parker and local labor unions and employers said, the belief that college is
for everyone needs to be shattered. Instead, students need to learn as early as
elementary school that they can have good careers with benefits in fields such
as construction. “Every student in high school has the opportunity,” Parker
said. “A lot of them just defer to the college track because they don’t know
many of the possibilities that are there.” In addition to Parker, Nancy
Dischinat, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board;
Donna Braden, president of Jack’s Glass; Rob Franklin, training director of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 375; and Bill Dorward
Jr., marketing representative of Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, also spoke
Tuesday in Allentown to about a dozen lawmakers.
Schuylkill County
‘ground zero’ in calls for elimination of school property tax
By FORD TURNER | THE MORNING CALL | JUL 17, 2019 | 5:55 AM
HARRISBURG - When a
handpicked group of state lawmakers meets this summer to hash out how to
legislate a possible end to school property taxes, the Lehigh Valley and nearby
regions might be foremost on the lawmakers’ minds. That’s because calls for the
elimination of the tax have been loudest in this part of the state, observers
said. “The arc around Philadelphia, from the Lehigh Valley through Schuylkill
and down to York,” said Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and
Policy Center, in describing places most desiring of a change in the tax.
“Schuylkill County is ground zero.” Last month, following a stretch in which
there was little movement on the perennial issue, Schuylkill state Sen. David
G. Argall said new discussions would likely take place in July and August. Last
week, Christine Verdier, chief of staff for the Republican state senator, said
Argall was working with House and Senate leaders to put together the “working
group.”
“Under the new law, schools could have
up to five such flexible instruction days per year, and those days would count
toward the 180 days of instruction the state requires. The law does not mean
districts must use the so-called cyber days; it merely permits them to, and it
requires that schools make arrangements for students and professional staff who
lack wireless access or adequate technology to make them work.”
No more snow days for some Pa. kids? Some parents say:
Not so fast.
Inquirer by Kristen A. Graham, Updated: July 17, 2019- 5:00 AM
When Gov. Tom Wolf signed
a bill into law permitting
Pennsylvania schools to allow students to work from home when the weather is
bad, some officials cheered. Figuring out how to make up snow days in packed
school calendars will be a thing of the past, proponents said. Young people are
technology natives, and allowing them to embrace digital devices to produce
meaningful work when they can’t get to school is a good solution, others said. Marisa
Starr was not cheering about the “flexible instruction days.” Starr, who lives
in Havertown, would work from home if her children couldn’t go to school
because of a snow day, and so would her husband. Her seventh grader would
probably fare fine, but her second grader, who needs special education
services, would require one-on-one attention to complete schoolwork. “I can’t
see every employer being flexible with this kind of thing,” said Starr, who
works in marketing. “I do think it’s an interesting concept, but the execution
won’t work for everyone.” And what about the value of just letting children
have that rare gift of a weekday filled with playing in the snow or sleeping
late? “Nothing as a kid beat that feeling of waking up and finding out there was
no school,” said Emily Litchendorf, who lives in Northeast Philadelphia and has
one child in a city charter school. “It was pure joy, and there’s something to
be said about giving that to kids. I would hate to totally deny that
possibility to the next generations."
“The main issue is making sure that
students have sufficient internet access and that accommodations can be made
for those who don’t. Districts that have a strong online component in place
already should have policies in place to deal with such situations. Clearly
this idea won’t work everywhere, so lawmakers were wise to make flexible
instruction days optional. However, it offers a reminder of the state’s need to
make sure poorer districts have the funding to keep up with technology advances
elsewhere, and that there’s sufficient broadband internet infrastructure in
rural areas where it often is lacking.”
Editorial: Snow day
flexibility makes sense
Pottstown Mercury
Editorial Jul 14, 2019
School scheduling
issues can elicit quite strong reactions. There are lots of opinions about when
the school year should begin and end, and especially about what should be done
when inclement weather is happening or is forecast. So it’s no surprise that
there’s been considerable public reaction to a new state law that gives local
administrators the ability to close school buildings without giving up school
days. School districts now are permitted to develop a system for flexible
instruction days so they can provide education at home, usually via online
lessons, when conditions make traveling to and from school dangerous. Some
critics of this idea have doubts about whether the replacement lessons can
truly replace a school day. Others argue that kids should be free to play and
have fun when there’s snow on the ground. These concerns are overblown. This is
an idea whose time has come. Many districts in the area already give out
portable computers to every student and have the technological infrastructure
in place to develop flexible instruction days quite easily. Students already
routinely collaborate with one another and communicate with teachers using such
systems.
Governor Wolf awards 5.5 million dollars for healthy
foods at Elementary Schools
YourErie Posted: Jul 16, 2019 / 11:35 AM
EDT / Updated: Jul 16, 2019 / 11:35 AM EDT
Governor Tom Wolf
announced today that more than 220 Elementary Schools will receive grants
totaling almost 5.5 million dollars in efforts to provide students with fresh
fruits and vegetables during the school day. “Children are better prepared to
learn when they have access to healthy food choices during their day. By
expanding breakfast programs, offering reduced-price meals, and providing fresh
produce, we’re improving the conditions to help students succeed,” said
Governor Wolf. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), is in place to create healthier
school environments by providing healthier food choices, expanding the variety
of fruits and vegetables students experience, increasing fruit and vegetable
consumption, and positively impacting students’ present and future. “Fresh
fruits and vegetables provide vital nutrients to growing children. These grants
are another way to help address food security in our schools, while also
providing an opportunity to teach students how to make smart nutritious
choices,” said Education Secretary Pedro Rivera. Funding priority is given to
the schools with the highest rates of students eligible for free and
reduced-price meals.
Michelle Obama appeals to teachers: Make sure your
students are registered and ready to vote
Washington Post Answer
Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss July 16 at 7:00 AM
Former first lady
Michelle Obama is urging teachers throughout the country to make sure students
who are eligible to cast ballots actually register and “are ready to vote.” Obama
made her call through a video address at two recent teachers union conferences: the annual convention of
the National Education Association, the country’s largest labor union, and the
American Federation of Teachers. Together, the organizations have as many as 5
million members, most of them educators. Her outreach to teachers is the first
piece of a voter registration initiative that she helped launch last year, a
national, nonpartisan organization called When We All Vote. Other co-chairs include Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monáe,
Chris Paul, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. The teachers unions are partners with
the nonprofit initiative, as are other organizations including the League of
Women Voters and Rock the Vote. “I’m asking you to join me in helping make sure
every eligible student is registered and ready to vote when the time comes,”
she said, adding that nobody should tell students how to vote.
Court showdown over religious freedom looms
RedefinEd By Patrick R. Gibbons July 16, 2019
A recent court
ruling in Montana appears to be at odds with an earlier decision, where the
U.S. Supreme Court determined that Missouri could not deny a church access to
public funds for playground safety simply because the organization was
religious. After nearly two decades of debate, the U.S. Supreme Court will finally get a
chance to determine how state courts may interpret “Blaine Amendments.” The court in Zelman v.
Simmons-Harris (2002)
previously had ruled state school voucher programs do not violate the Establishment
Clause of the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But whether state constitution
“Blaine Amendments” could be used to deny voucher programs remained unresolved.
“Blaine Amendments” are 19th century vestiges of America’s anti-Catholic
and anti-immigrant past. Today, 37 states have amendments to their
constitutions preventing religious institutions from indirectly, or in some
places like Florida, directly receiving state aid. These amendments originally
were adopted to prevent Catholics from establishing their own publicly funded
schools. At the time, public schools provided religious instruction exclusively
using the Protestant Bible. Today, champions of this provision claim it protects “separation of church and state,” but critics see
discrimination, and argue that it violates the First Amendment as well as the government’s
duty to remain neutral with respect to religious practices.
PCCY: 2 seconds for
$200,000 and a game-changing opportunity for kids
PCCY needs
your votes! We are in the running for a $200,000 Key to the Community
Grant from the Philadelphia Foundation! Our idea is simple – give more parents in the Greater Philadelphia
region tools, resources and networks to amplify their voices in advocacy and
policy impacting our children. To launch the Parent Advocacy Accelerator, we
need your help. The Philadelphia Foundation is running an on-line voting
contest. The idea that gets the most votes in a category, wins the grant. Voting
is quick and easy at https://www.philafound.org/vote/. Just scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and vote for the
project listed as the Parent Advocacy Accelerator under the “Community and
Civic Engagement" category, Every vote, every day counts. VOTE
EVERY DAY UNTIL JULY 26! Share with your networks in Pennsylvania, New York,
New Jersey, or Delaware and ask them to vote every day, too.
Thank you for your
votes and support!
In November, many boards will be
preparing to welcome new directors to their governance Team of Ten. This event
will help attendees create a full year on-boarding schedule based on best
practices and thoughtful prioritization. Register now:
PSBA: Start Strong:
Developing a District On-Boarding Plan for New Directors
SEP 11, 2019 • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
In November, many
boards will be faced with a significant transition as they prepare to welcome
new directors to their governance Team of Ten. This single-day program
facilitated by PSBA trainers and an experienced PA board president will guide
attendees to creating a strong, full year on-boarding schedule based on best
practices and thoughtful prioritization. Grounded in PSBA’s Principles for
Governance and Leadership, attendees will hear best practices from their colleagues
and leave with a full year’s schedule, a jump drive of resources, ideas for
effective local training, and a plan to start strong.
Register online at MyPSBA: www.psba.org and click on “MyPSBA” in the upper right corner.
The deadline to
submit a cover letter, resume and application is August 19,
2019.
Become a 2019-2020 PSBA Advocacy Ambassador
PSBA is seeking
applications for two open Advocacy Ambassador positions. Candidates
should have experience 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 responsible for assisting PSBA in achieving its advocacy goals. To
achieve their mission, ambassadors will be kept up to date on current
legislation and PSBA positions on legislation. The current open
positions will cover PSBA Sections 3 and 4, and
Section 7.
PSBA Advocacy
Ambassadors are independent contractors representing PSBA and serve
as liaisons between PSBA and their local 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.
PSBA: Nominations for The Allwein Society are open!
This award program
recognizes school directors who are outstanding leaders & advocates on
behalf of public schools & students. Nominations are accepted year-round
with selections announced early fall: http://ow.ly/CchG50uDoxq
EPLC is accepting
applications for the 2019-20 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Education Policy & Leadership Center
PA's premier education policy leadership program for education, policy
& community leaders with 582 alumni since 1999. Application with program
schedule & agenda are at http://www.eplc.org
2019 PASA-PSBA School
Leadership Conference Oct. 16-18, 2019
WHERE: Hershey Lodge and
Convention Center 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA
WHEN: Wednesday, October
16 to Friday, October 18, 201
Registration is now open!
Growth from knowledge acquired. Vision inspired by innovation. Impact
created by a synergized leadership community. You are called upon to be the
drivers of a thriving public education system. It’s a complex and challenging
role. Expand your skillset and give yourself the tools needed for the
challenge. Packed into two and a half daysꟷꟷgain access to top-notch education
and insights, dynamic speakers, peer learning opportunities and the latest
product and service innovations. Come to the PASA-PSBA School Leadership
Conference to grow!
NPE Action National
Conference - Save the Date - March 28-29, 2020 in Philadelphia, PA.
The window is now open for workshop proposals for the Network for Public
Education conference, March 28-29, 2020, in Philadelphia. I hope you all sign
on to present on a panel and certainly we want all to attend. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NBCNDKK
Any comments contained herein are my comments, alone, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other person or organization
that I may be affiliated with.
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