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
If any of your colleagues would
like to be added to the email list please have them send their name, title and
affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 18, 2019:
Have
newly elected members on your school board? If any of your new colleagues would
like to be added to the PA Ed Policy Roundup email list please have them send
their name, title and affiliation to KeystoneStateEdCoalition@gmail.com
“The closure comes as more than 200
Philadelphia high school students plan to head to Harrisburg on Wednesday to
lobby lawmakers over asbestos and lead in their schools.”
Asbestos is shutting down another Philadelphia school
Inquirer by Kristen A.
Graham and Wendy Ruderman, December 17, 2019
Another
Philadelphia public school building has been closed after damaged asbestos was
discovered inside. Franklin Learning Center on North 15th Street will shut to
students and staff through Jan. 2. Environmental staff from the Philadelphia
School District on Tuesday “identified an imminent hazard involving damage to
asbestos-containing pipe insulation” at FLC. The damage was found inside an air
shaft connecting the school’s attic to its fan room. FLC is the fourth school
this year to have its building shut down because of asbestos. Benjamin
Franklin High — a
separate school down the street from FLC — and Science Leadership Academy, the
magnet school that was to share Franklin High’s North Broad Street building,
were shut for weeks. Students at both schools have returned to classes but in
temporary locations. Their building is expected to reopen next year.
Another school closed as a result of potential asbestos
danger
Franklin
Learning Center is expected to re-open Jan. 2.
The notebook December
17 — 8:33 pm, 2019
Franklin Learning
Center is the latest Philadelphia public school to be closed due to the
discovery of damaged asbestos, this time in an air shaft that connects the
attic to the fan room and is important in heating the building. The District’s
Office of Environmental Management and Services sent a letter home with
students Tuesday saying that it had “identified an imminent hazard involving
damage to asbestos-containing pipe insulation…In an abundance of caution, and
because the air shaft impacts our ability to heat the building,” the school
will close until Jan. 2. The neoclassical building, originally William Penn
High School for Girls, is more than a century old, built in 1909-10. Franklin
Learning Center (FLC), at 15th and Green Streets in Spring Garden, is just a
block away from Benjamin Franklin High School, which has been closed since the
beginning of the school year due to asbestos dust disturbed during renovations
that split the building for joint use with Science Leadership Academy. The
1,000 students who attend the two schools have been taking classes elsewhere.
Congress Mostly Snubs DeVos Agenda in Deal Increasing
Education Spending
Education Week
Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on December 17, 2019 10:05 AM
Federal lawmakers
have struck a spending deal that
would boost funding for the U.S. Department of Education to $72.8 billion in discretionary aid, a $1.3 billion increase that would include
hundreds of millions of dollars more for big-ticket programs for public schools
such as Title I and special education grants. The
fiscal 2020 appropriations bill, which must still be approved by the House and Senate before heading to
President Donald Trump, also includes a $550 million increase for Head Start
and a $25 million increase for Preschool Development Grants. Other programs to
get more money under the deal include Title IV grants for academic enrichment
and student supports, English-language acquisition, and after-school programs. Click here for a
detailed chart about education programs in the spending deal for fiscal 2020. By contrast, the bill largely ignores the Trump administration's
proposed Education Department budget, which would slash aid to the agency by
about 10 percent. In fact, the spending bill continues
to fund all the 29 programs the administration sought to eliminate. The spending deal also ignores Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos'
signature proposal, Education Freedom Scholarships, which would use federal tax
credits administered by the Department of the Treasury to pay for private
school costs and a host of other educational services. The Treasury
Department's budget under the deal includes no mention of new funds to
administer these tax credits.
Commonsense Cyber Charter School Funding Reform Will
Eliminate Wasteful Spending and Save $290 Million in Taxpayer Money
Education Voters PA
Report
Cyber charter
schools have materially lower costs than either traditional public schools or
brick and mortar charter schools, where teachers are in the same classrooms as
their students. Cyber charter schools deliver their education over the internet
to students in their own homes, typically with a laptop computer that is
provided by the cyber charter school. They frequently use recorded programs
that can be re-used in many classes or for students individually.
Infrastructure is greatly reduced. Despite this different cost structure, they
are paid the same as brick and mortar charter schools. In 2015, the
Pennsylvania legislature enacted a new school funding formula that based
funding on actual student enrollment and other cost factors. This was a major
step forward in correcting a decades-old, deeply flawed, and inequitable system
of funding public school districts. The legislature has not yet addressed
similar flaws in Pennsylvania’s system for funding cyber charter schools. With
an annual price tag over $519 million, funding of cyber charter schools remains
just as flawed as the old system of funding basic education was, and has
created ever worsening problems for our state’s school districts and wasted tax
monies. We recommend adopting commonsense cyber charter school funding
reform to eliminate wasteful spending, saving $290 million in taxpayer money,
and mitigating the harm that cyber charter schools cause to Pennsylvania’s
public school districts.
Central York has largest number of religious opt-outs in
county
Lindsay C VanAsdalan, York
Dispatch Published 8:42 a.m. ET Dec. 14, 2019 | Updated 3:59 p.m. ET
Dec. 16, 2019
Central York School
District this year had a significant number of religious opt-outs from
standardized tests — substantially more than any other district in the
county. Although opt-outs are relatively low statewide, Pennsylvania Department
of Education spokesman Eric Levis said, districts with significant numbers
could see an impact on test scores — a concern relevant to Central,
considering the district has some of the lowest scores on state exams
in York County. "In those districts, schools’ participation rates might
decline enough to affect accountability measures in accordance with federal
law," he said. The district had 510 religious opt-outs across
all grade levels in Keystone exams and Pennsylvania System of
School Assessments, according to state data. The only other districts that
came close were Dallastown Area School District, with 247 opt-outs this
year, and Red Lion Area School District with 95. This is significant because,
according to research from FairTest, a national nonprofit focused on
testing accuracy, as of 2018, Pennsylvania was the only state with an explicit
provision for religious exemption.
“District
Business Manager John Zahorchak said he recommended the district raise taxes
beyond the index this coming school year due to about a $1 million increase in
pension obligations, salaries, health care and charter school costs.”
Plum school officials
say 4% tax hike might be needed for next year
MICHAEL DIVITTORIO | Tuesday, December 17, 2019 11:33 p.m.
Plum School
District property owners could see their real estate taxes jump by more than 4%
as school district officials try to plug a $1.3 million budget shortfall in
next year’s budget. Instead of adopting a resolution to keep any tax increase
at or below the state’s Act 1 index for the district, which would have capped
any tax increase at 3.5%, school directors chose to present a preliminary
budget that calls for a 4% tax increase. The move would raise taxes from the
current 21.0757 mills to 21.923 mills. The approximately 0.85 mill increase
would hike taxes by about $97 for a home with the district’s median assessed
value of $113,700. School board members said the vote Tuesday does not
necessarily mean taxes will go up by 4% because the district hasn’t yet gotten
figures for state and federal aid for the next school year and because district
officials plan to seek new revenue streams for the district before having to
adopt a formal preliminary budget on Jan. 26 and a final budget by June. The
move does paves the way for the district to apply for pension and special
education exceptions through the state Department of Education in February. The
exemptions would be necessary to raise taxes above the Act 1 index.
Testing Resistance
& Reform News: December 11 - 17, 2019
FairTest Submitted
by fairtest on December 17, 2019 - 1:54pm
Even in the midst
of pre-holiday festivities, there's still plenty of good news about the
assessment reform movement. As we celebrate the season in our own, diverse
ways, please help keep the pressure on policymakers so our campaigns to roll
back testing misuse and overuse have even more success in the new year.
Join us in Harrisburg to support public
education Monday March 23, 2020!
All school
leaders are invited to attend Advocacy Day at the state Capitol in
Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), Pennsylvania
Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and the Pennsylvania Association of
School Administrators (PASA) are partnering together to strengthen our advocacy
impact. The day will center around meetings with legislators to discuss
critical issues affecting public education. Click here for
more information or register at http://www.mypsba.org/
School
directors can register online now by logging in to myPSBA. If you need
assistance logging in and registering contact Alysha Newingham, Member Data
System Administrator at alysha.newingham@psba.org
Training: Enhancing
School Safety Jan. 9th, 8 am – 1 pm Council Rock High School South
The training is
provided by the United States Secret Service and the Office PA Rep Wendi
Thomas, in partnership with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, Bucks County DA
Matt Weintraub and PSEA.
Date: Thursday,
January 9, 2020, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Council Rock High
School South, 2002 Rock Way, Holland PA 18954
This is the
region’s first presentation of the National Threat Assessment Center's (NTAC)
2020 research on actionable plans to prevent violence in schools. The training
is provided by the United States Secret Service (USSS)
and is based on updated operational research conducted by the USSS and the
NTAC. The training will offer best practices on preventing incidents of
targeted school violence. This workshop will focus solely on how to proactively
identify, assess, and manage individuals exhibiting concerning behavior based
on USSS methodologies.
At the conclusion
of the training, attendees will be able to:
· Understand operational research on preventing incidents of targeted
school violence;
· Be able to proactively identify, using USSS methodologies, concerning
behaviors prior to an incident;
· Be able to assess concerning behaviors using best practice standards and
use identified methods to better manage individuals who exhibit concerning
behaviors with the goal of preventing school violence.
Charter Schools;
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
PENNSYLVANIA
BULLETIN PROPOSED RULEMAKING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [ 22 PA. CODE CH. 711 ]
The award winning documentary Backpack Full of
Cash that explores the siphoning of funds from traditional public
schools by charters and vouchers will be shown in three locations in the
Philadelphia suburbs in the upcoming weeks.
The film is
narrated by Matt Damon, and some of the footage was shot in Philadelphia.
Members of the
public who are interested in becoming better informed about some of the
challenges to public education posed by privatization are invited to attend.
At all locations, the film will start
promptly at 7 pm, so it is suggested that members of the
audience arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the start of the
screening.
Backpack Full of
Cash hosted by State
Representatives Mary Jo Daley, Tim Briggs, and Matt Bradford
Monday,
January 6, 2020
Ludington
Library 5 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue Bryn Mawr,
PA 19010
PSBA Alumni Forum: Leaving school board service?
Continue your connection and commitment to public education by joining PSBA Alumni Forum. Benefits of the complimentary membership includes:
Continue your connection and commitment to public education by joining PSBA Alumni Forum. Benefits of the complimentary membership includes:
- electronic access to PSBA Bulletin
- legislative information via email
- Daily EDition e-newsletter
- Special access to one dedicated annual briefing
Register
today online. Contact Crista Degregorio at Crista.Degregorio@psba.org with questions.
Register
Today for PSBA/PASA/PAIU
Advocacy Day at the
Capitol-- March 23, 2020
PSBA Advocacy Day
2020 MAR 23, 2020 • 8:00 AM - 2:30 PM
STRENGTHEN OUR
VOICE.
Join us in
Harrisburg to support public education!
All school leaders
are invited to attend Advocacy Day at the state Capitol in
Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), Pennsylvania
Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU) and the Pennsylvania Association of
School Administrators (PASA) are partnering together to strengthen our advocacy
impact. The day will center around meetings with legislators to discuss
critical issues affecting public education.
Registration: As a
membership benefit, there is no cost to register. Your legislator
appointments will be coordinated with the completion of your registration. The
day will begin with a continental breakfast and issue briefing prior to the
legislator visits. Registrants will receive talking points, materials and
leave-behinds to use with their meetings. Staff will be stationed at a table in
the Main Rotunda during the day to answer questions and provide assistance.
Sign up today
at myPSBA.org.
PSBA New and Advanced
School Director Training in Dec & Jan
Additional sessions now being offered in
Bucks and Beaver Counties
Do you want
high-impact, engaging training that newly elected and reseated school directors
can attend to be certified in new and advanced required training? PSBA has been
supporting new school directors for more than 50 years by enlisting statewide
experts in school law, finance and governance to deliver a one-day foundational
training. This year, we are adding a parallel track of sessions for those who
need advanced school director training to meet their compliance requirements.
These sessions will be delivered by the same experts but with advanced content.
Look for a compact evening training or a longer Saturday session at a location
near you. All sites will include one hour of trauma-informed training required
by Act 18 of 2019. Weekend sites will include an extra hour for a legislative
update from PSBA’s government affairs team.
New School
Director Training
Week Nights:
Registration opens 3:00 p.m., program starts 3:30 p.m. -9:00 p.m., dinner with
break included
Saturdays: Registration opens at 8:00 a.m., program starts at 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Saturdays: Registration opens at 8:00 a.m., program starts at 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Advanced
School Director Training
Week Nights:
Registration with dinner provided opens at 4:30 p.m., program starts 5:30 p.m.
-9:00 p.m.
Saturdays: Registration opens at 10:00 a.m., program starts at 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Saturdays: Registration opens at 10:00 a.m., program starts at 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., lunch with break included
Locations
and dates
- Saturday, December 14 — State College
Area High School, 650 Westerly Pkwy, State College, PA 16801
- Saturday, January 11, 2020 — PSBA
Headquarters, 400 Bent Creek Blvd, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
- Saturday, January 25,
2020 — Bucks County IU 22, 705 N Shady Retreat Rd,
Doylestown, PA 18901
- Monday, February 3, 2020 — Beaver Valley IU 27, 147
Poplar Avenue, Monaca, PA 15061
Congress, Courts, and
a National Election: 50 Million Children’s Futures Are at Stake. Be their
champion at the 2020 Advocacy Institute.
NSBA Advocacy
Institute Feb. 2-4, 2020 Marriot Marquis, Washington, D.C.
Join school leaders
from across the country on Capitol Hill, Feb. 2-4, 2020 to influence the
legislative agenda & shape decisions that impact public schools. Check out
the schedule & more at https://nsba.org/Events/Advocacy-Institute
Register now for
Network for Public Education Action National Conference in Philadelphia March
28-29, 2020
Registration, hotel
information, keynote speakers and panels:
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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