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PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 27, 2019
“The Public Interest Law Center, the
Education Law Center, and O’Melveny & Myers have sued several state
entities on behalf of underfunded public school districts, parents of children
attending underfunded schools, and the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference.
(The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided in favor of justiciability in September
2017 and remanded to the Commonwealth Court for trial. The trial is currently
set for fall 2020.) The plaintiffs’ complaint seeks a declaration “that public
education is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Pennsylvania Constitution to
all school-age children, residing in the commonwealth,” and to force the state
legislature “to adopt a school financing arrangement that is reasonably
calculated to ensure that all students in Pennsylvania have an opportunity to
obtain an adequate education that will enable them to meet state academic
standards and participate meaningfully in the economic, civic and social
activities of our society.”
Why Philadelphia Public Schools Need More State Funding
Philadelphia
schools are showing signs of distress, and more state funding is a necessary
part of the solution. Pennsylvania courts may soon decide that more funding is
required. Here’s a look at the numbers in Philadelphia underlying the problem.
The Legal Intelligencer
By Robin Lipp | December 19, 2019
at 01:37 PM
Philadelphia
schools are showing signs of distress, and more state funding is a necessary
part of the solution. Pennsylvania courts may soon decide that more funding is
required. Here’s a look at the numbers in Philadelphia underlying the problem. Philadelphia’s
public schools urgently need financial support. Almost five years into the
Philadelphia School District’s pursuit of “Action Plan 3.0,” the district’s
roadmap to achieve its major goals, the district has run up against the limits
of its capacity and faces new challenges in light of the poor physical state of
its schools. School buildings are crumbling, with hazards like lead and
asbestos in classrooms. According to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers,
over 110,000 Philadelphia students enter buildings with lead and asbestos, and
more than 88,000 students attend schools with hazardous mold. And academic
outcomes—schools’ core mission—have been slow to improve. Since 2015, the
overall high school graduation rate for publicly funded Philadelphia schools
increased from 65% to 69% (73% to 79% among district-operated schools),
remaining well below the state average of 87%. The percentage of 8-year-olds
reading at grade level barely rose from 33% to 36%, a sad reflection of the
landscape for Philadelphia’s children.
BUILDING BLACK ROLE MODELS
Research shows we need more Black teachers in
our classrooms—for everyone's sake. A former Mastery principal is working on it
Philadelphia
Citizen BY JESSICA PRESS DEC. 23, 2019
Sharif El-Mekki is
crying. “I’m sorry,” he says, wiping the tears from under his eyes. But there’s
no reason to apologize. Sitting in Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books, just blocks from the school he attended as a kid, the former
teacher-turned-principal is getting choked up talking about how much he misses
working in a school environment every day, as he did for the last 26 years,
until just this past summer. “I always thought of being an educator as an
absolute honor. People trusted me with their children,” he says.
“That’s a sacred bond that gave me a deep sense of purpose.” Since May,
El-Mekki has been channeling that sense of purpose and joy into his latest
endeavor: The Center for Black Educator Development. The initiative has a three-pronged mission: to recruit
Black teachers; to train Black teachers; and to retain Black
teachers. It comes at a time in our
city when, in a district whose student body is 49 percent Black, only 24
percent of teachers are Black, and less than five percent are Black males. (Nationally, a mere two
percent of teachers are Black men.)
Blogger comment: Pennsylvania’s charter
school law has a reputation as one of the worst in the country. Here’s one
possible reason why our state legislature has done virtually nothing to improve
it over the past 20 years…
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 20, 2019: Follow the Money:
Selected 2007 - 2019 Campaign Contributions by Vahan Gureghian
Charter funding: A
closer look at special education tuition
PBS39 by Chloe
Nouvelle • Published on December 20, 2019 • Updated December 21, 2019
Bethlehem, Pa.
(WLVT) - According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, a school
district's special education funding is based on student need. However, that is
not the case for public charter schools that receive special education tuition
payments from school districts. Critics of the state funding system say charter
schools receive more money than is needed for special education student
instruction. At an August news conference with Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of
Education Pedro Rivera, Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Joseph
Roy described this funding structure as resulting in "overpayments." He
said state data shows, on average, charter schools that took in Bethlehem area
students in 2017 spent about $9,000 per special education student. But the
Bethlehem Area School District paid charter schools nearly $23,000 per special
education student that year. William Hartman, a professor emeritus at Penn
State University, authored a report for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a
legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, that examined special
education enrollments and expenditures in Pennsylvania over a 10-year period. In
an interview with PBS39 News Tonight, Hartman said, "There is a
substantial excess of charter school tuition payments for special education
students beyond what (charters) are spending for those students." But
charter schools disagree. Robert Lysek, president of the board of directors of
the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools and the CEO of Executive
Education Academy Charter School in Allentown, said the data Roy and Hartman
are pointing to is skewed and does not fully reflect all of the dollars
charters spend on special education instruction.
Asbestos closes two more Philly schools, the 5th and 6th
so far this year
Inquirer by Kristen A.
Graham and Wendy Ruderman, Updated: December
20, 2019
Two more
Philadelphia School District buildings were closed on Friday because of
“imminent hazards” caused by damaged asbestos. The announcements about McClure
and Carnell Elementaries, made late Thursday night, underscored the burgeoning
environmental crisis the district now has on its hands. Soon after the school
year began, damaged asbestos forced the relocation of students from Benjamin
Franklin High and Science Leadership Academy. Next, students were removed from
T.M. Peirce Elementary. On Tuesday, Franklin Learning Center was ordered
closed. The decision to shut McClure, at Sixth and Hunting Park, was made
first; soon after, district officials announced Carnell, where “several
imminent hazards” were found, would also need to shut. “The School District of
Philadelphia’s top priority remains to provide a healthy, safe and welcoming
learning environment for all students and staff," spokesperson Megan Lello
said in a statement. Lello said the decisions to close were made “out of an
abundance of caution.”
How 30 years of broken promises, false starts led to
another Philly asbestos closure
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent December 23, 2019
Lynn Johnson began
teaching at Philadelphia’s Franklin Learning Center in 1999 — and from the
moment she stepped into the aging structure, she heard “constant talk” of a
move. The district had promised to relocate the high school after a 1996
student protest over poor building conditions. Johnson, an award-winning
biology teacher, says she even sat on a planning committee to design new labs
for the forthcoming building. And then… crickets. Promises turned into 16 years
of inaction, and eventually, Johnson retired at age 55 when she developed
a rare
auto-immune disease that
sapped her hearing and vision. She can’t be sure if the ailment stems from
environmental conditions inside her former school, but she wonders. And she
wonders why — after decades of false starts and red flags — Franklin Learning
Center still inhabits a building erected back in 1908.
Philadelphia’s high school athletes should be hungry only
for a win | Editorial
The Inquirer Editorial Board | opinion@inquirer.com Updated: December
26, 2019 - 5:10 AM
When local high
school athletes make it big in college or get signed by a pro team, Philly
embraces them as hometown heroes. But for many athletes, the strongest memory
of the years of playing and training in a Philadelphia high school is of an
empty stomach. The Inquirer’s Aaron Carter
spent more than a year investigating food insecurity among high school athletes in Philadelphia. Carter documents how
prevalent food insecurity is among athletes who put themselves through
unhealthy regimes to stay fit and work for a chance at a college scholarship. Many
teenagers in Philadelphia, especially black teenagers who grow up in poverty,
believe that sports is their only chance to “beat the odds” and go to college
or get a high-paying job. The training and being a part of a team also becomes
a refuge in a childhood that might otherwise be defined by despair. Philadelphia’s
gun violence — in 2019 a person under 18
was shot on average every four days — means that high school-aged teenagers often carry trauma. Because
of Philly’s high rates of drug addiction and incarceration, many athletes don’t
have the privilege of only focusing on their academics and practices. Some told
Carter that they skipped meals
out of a sense of responsibility to their families, and saved the food to share at home later.
Haverford has the oldest high school radio station in the
country
Inquirer by Mari A. Schaefer, Updated: December
24, 2019
Deep inside
Haverford High School sits WHHS (99.9) FM, a little 10-watt radio station with a
20,000-watt legacy. The impact of the tiny, student-run operation extends well
beyond the mile-sized broadcast range that circles the school’s Main Line
locale. It shows up in community coffee houses, in corporate board rooms,
political offices, and news organizations across the country. It even has a
Hollywood connection. WHHS-FM is the oldest high school-operated radio station
in the country and one of only a few in the region. But more than that, it’s a
potent glue that bonds current students to decades of graduates, many of whom
credit the station for their success in a wide range of careers. Nowhere was
this more evident than at a jubilant Friday night party this month to honor the
station’s 70th anniversary. The celebration was held at the school, where a
giant red, black, and yellow balloon arch welcomed current and former radio
staffers into the cafeteria, where displays of historic photos lined the walls.
In the adjacent WHHS school studio, radio-club alums mixed with current staff,
and members of the student board of directors took turns recording
station-identification announcements to be aired later.
Harrisburg School District’s credit rating
re-established, lowered
Penn Live By Sean
Sauro | ssauro@pennlive.com Updated Dec 23, 2019;Posted Dec 23, 2019
A re-established
credit rating should strengthen Harrisburg School District’s ability to borrow
money at lower interest rates and to refinance existing debts. It’s a financial
development that Acting Assistant Superintendent Chris Celmer called “great
news for the district,” but it also came with a caveat — Standard & Poor’s
lowered the district’s credit rating from A to A-minus earlier this month. “This
is great news for the district, but we still have a very long way to go to
right the ship,” Celmer said in a statement. In June, officials at S&P
placed the district on a credit watch with negative implications, meaning analysts
were paying special attention to Harrisburg’s credit rating with the idea that
it could be lowered. The watch was announced June 13, shortly after officials
at the state Department of Education filed a petition in the Dauphin County
Court of Common Pleas, asking
that the district be placed into receivership in an effort to turn around decades of academic and financial
underperformance.
“Keller becomes the eighth in a string
of lawmakers who have announced their intention to step down when their term is
over.”
Pa. Rep. Mark Keller announces he will not seek
re-election to an eighth term
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Posted
Dec 26, 2019
Rep. Mark Keller, R-Perry County, announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of
his term of office that expires Nov. 30. Keller said in a news release
announcing his intention to put a punctuation mark on his 14-year legislative
career, “over the past several months, I have reflected on this amazing
opportunity; and while it is a difficult decision, I have decided to join my
wife, Sally, in the ranks of retirement and will not seek re-election once my
term wraps up in November 2020.”
Pittsburgh school board to meet Friday in attempt to fund
2020 budget
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com DEC 26, 2019 5:57 PM
The Pittsburgh
Public Schools board will get another chance Friday to approve a measure that
will fund the district’s 2020 budget after it voted against a 2.3% tax increase
last week. The school board will meet for a special legislative session
at noon in Oakland in an attempt to hash out a deal that will keep the schools
operating for the rest of the school year. Officials have warned that the
district could effectively shut down in early 2020 if a budget is not
passed. The school board Dec. 18 approved the district’s $665.6
million budget by a vote of 5-4. But in an unusual move, according to
district solicitor Ira Weiss, the board then voted against the tax increase
that would have helped to balance the budget.
“In 2019, the district paid $95,129,023 to charter schools. In the proposed 2020 budget, new district projections put the expenditure at $102,150,444. That’s an increase of $7,021,421 in a single year.”
Charter Schools, Harrisburg & Mayor Peduto Created
Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Budget Deficit
Gadfly on the Wall
Blog by Steven M. Singer December 23, 2019
Where did all the
money go? Pittsburgh
Public Schools will start 2020 with a $25.1 million budget deficit. Superintendent Dr. Anthony
Hamlet has asked for a 2.3% tax increase to cover the shortfall, but school directors ended up approving his
spending plan without approving the tax increase. The school board will meet on
Friday to decide whether to ultimately raise taxes or make cuts including
possible staff furloughs. But in the meantime, city residents are left
wondering why the measure was necessary in the first place. After all, student
enrollment has gone down at the second biggest district in the state after
Philadelphia, yet spending is up
2.4% from 2019. It really
all comes down to three things: charter schools, retirement costs and tax
revenue differed to the city.
Pa.’s Safe Schools Report provides plenty of numbers, but
critics question their accuracy
WHYY By Jana
Benscoter, PennLive December 24, 2019
This PennLive
article appeared on PA Post.
Five years ago, on
April 9, 2014, a 16-year-old student with two knives stabbed 20 students and a
security guard inside a school in Westmoreland County before he was tackled by
an assistant principal. Four people were critically injured but all survived. In
the state Department of Education’s annual Safe Schools Report — an attempt to
chronicle every crime that occurs in Pennsylvania’s schools — the multiple
stabbings were reported as one incident of attempted murder. Earlier this year,
a Pottsgrove High School student shot a gun at a classmate and was charged with
attempted murder by the Chester County District Attorney. That incident was
omitted in the 2018-19 report, which was released in late October. In both
cases, some in educational circles said that neither school accurately reported
the crimes committed on school grounds in the Safe Schools Report. Why? Because
no one is overseeing what’s turned in. At a time when mass shootings have
increased nationwide the state’s Safe Schools Act might need to be revamped to
ensure that the reporting is accurate, experts said.
5 Pittsburgh schools
among state’s highest in arrests, citations as security debate continues
Trib Live by TEGHAN SIMONTON | Friday,
December 27, 2019 4:01 a.m.
Five Pittsburgh
schools are among the top 25 in the state for arrests and citations, according
to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The figures are fuel to
the fiery debate over school security and police officers in the buildings. “I
don’t believe there should be police presence in schools,” said Pam Harbin,
co-founder of the Education Rights Network and a member of the Pittsburgh
Public School Board. “I think schools should be places of safety and sanctuary
for students, and putting in police just changes that dynamic.” The annual Safe
Schools report for the 2018-19 year was published in October and contained data
about student misconduct, arrests and citations in every public school in the
state. The report identifies the number of times local law enforcement was
called, total arrests and citations during the school year, and categories of
misconduct.
New Kensington-Arnold
School Board continues to pave way for hefty property tax hike
Trib Live by GEORGE
GUIDO | Friday,
December 20, 2019 3:56 p.m.
New
Kensington-Arnold School District will go forward with preparing a preliminary
budget for the 2020-21 school year as it readies to ask the state for
permission to increase property taxes by more than twice its limit. The school
board voted unanimously Thursday night against a measure that would have
prevented the board from raising taxes by more than the state-imposed limit of
3.9% — or no more than 3.32 mills — for the 2020-21 school year. Preparing a
preliminary budget is the first step toward seeking a higher property tax
increase. Business Manager Jeff McVey has prepared a $38.96 million budget with
a 7-mill increase, based on the state allowing the district to increase the
property tax rate by another 3.68 mills for special education costs.
Circle of Seasons
Charter School sues Northwestern Lehigh over $260K in property taxes
By SARAH M. WOJCIK THE MORNING CALL | DEC 20, 2019 | 11:54 AM
The Circle of
Seasons Charter School is suing the Northwestern Lehigh School District after
officials say they mistakenly paid more than a quarter of a million dollars in
property taxes, but the district maintains the charter school’s failure to
submit paperwork necessary for tax exemption means they’ve forfeited the money.
Filed Dec. 17 in Lehigh County Court, the lawsuit seeks a full refund of the
taxes, plus interest and the cost of the litigation. The charter school says
the school district didn’t even respond to its request to return the money. But
that’s because it wasn’t until Jan. 1, 2019, that the charter school filed the
proper paperwork for tax exemption, according to district solicitor John
Freund. “As the guardian of its tax base, the Northwestern Lehigh School
District cannot allow the charter school to abdicate its responsibility to the
students of the Northwestern Lehigh School District, including the charter
school’s own enrollees, prior to the county’s determination that the charter
school is qualified for an exemption,” Freund said in a statement responding to
the litigation. Blake Marles, attorney for the Circle of Seasons Charter
School, disagrees that any paperwork is necessary for the exemption since the
state statute indicates charters are tax exempt upon their formation.
On the eve of winter break, the Philly District schedules
a controversial charter hearing
A health and
sciences charter high school is being proposed. A neighborhood school with a
similar focus is less than five miles away.
The notebook by Bill Hangley Jr. December 19 — 10:14
pm, 2019
A meeting on Friday
will bring a classic standoff to School District headquarters: a debate between
supporters of a proposed charter that believes it can set a new standard and
critics who fear that the new school will undermine fragile gains made in the
District’s neighborhood schools. The setting will be a hearing required for all
new charter applicants. The applicant will be joined at the hearing for a
proposed charter focused on health and science by staff from a nearby District
high school that has a nearly identical mission and model – Kensington Health
Sciences Academy (KHSA). The charter supporters’ philosophy: Fund us, and we’ll
make things better for everyone. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” said Tim
Matheney, CEO of the proposed High School of Health Sciences Leadership Charter
School (HS2L). The response from Nimet Eren, principal of KHSA was: “There are
many health and science programs in the city, and we should invest in them.”
New Philly Charter Application Hearing: Friday, December
20, 2019
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools by
Lynda Rubin December 20, 2019
This hearing
presented two new charter applications to the Board: Heath and Science
Leadership Academy Charter (HS2L) to be located at 5210 Broad Street, and
String Theory/Joan Meyers Brown (JMB) Charter School to be located in
Wynnefield. Despite the fact that this was the first of only two hearings on
these applications, and that this was the only one of the two at which public
testimony will be heard, the date for this hearing was set for Friday, December
20th, at 4:00 pm–for many the last day before the extended Christmas holiday.
APPS members, in testimony at the December Board meeting and in emails to the
District, protested this date. The Board did not accede to this request,
stating that they were hemmed in by the State’s deadline and that public testimony
could be submitted in writing.
EDITORIAL: York City School District receives some
much-welcomed news from College Board
York Dispatch Published
5:11 a.m. ET Dec. 25, 2019
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The
10th annual AP Honor Roll was recently released by the College Board.
- Only
two York County school districts earned a spot on the honor roll.
- The
two local districts honored were York Suburban and York City.
- It's
the first time the York City School District earned the recognition.
It’s no secret that
the York City School District often takes a beating in the court of public
opinion. Sometimes the criticism is fair, other times it’s not. There is no
doubt that the district faces many challenges — a lack of adequate state
funding, an underprivileged student population, a difficulty attracting
the best teachers and security issues are among them. There is also no doubt
that the bad news the district endures is often trumpeted in headlines. That’s
why it’s only fair that when the district enjoys some positive news, that news
should get equal treatment. This is one of those times.
Why these Philly teachers say the school district is
afraid of them winning the union election
Inquirer by Juliana
Feliciano Reyes, Updated: December 23, 2019
On a dreary school
night in November, the sanctuary of a North Philadelphia church was coursing
with energy. Two hundred educators were cheering for their colleagues —
classroom assistants, bilingual counselors, veteran elementary school teachers
— who had taken the stage to sell their vision for public education in the
poorest big city in America: Higher wages for support staff, buildings
that are safe to teach in, and a
union powerful enough to make it all happen. “My question is, are you ready for
a strong union?” asked Leah Wood, a classroom assistant at Feltonville Arts
& Sciences. “Yes!” they yelled back. But first, this faction of Philly
educators, these labor activists with a militant spirit, have to win their
union election in February. If they do, once the contract expires at the end of
the summer, there’s a strong chance that the city could see its 13,000
educators going on strike for the first time since the 1980s.
Trump Signs Education Spending Bill That Funds 29
Programs He Sought to Abolish
Education Week
Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on December 20, 2019 10:31 PM
The bill funding
the U.S. Department of Education signed by President Donald Trump on Friday
marks the third straight time he has unsuccessfully sought to cut the
department's overall budget. The fiscal 2020 spending bill Trump just
signed provides $72.8 billion in discretionary funding to the Education
Department, a $1.3
billion increase that stands in stark contrast to the 10 percent cut Trump proposed in his blueprint from March. The spending bill he signed includes a $450 million increase for Title
I spending on disadvantaged students, a $410 million increase for state special
education grants, and more money for programs covering academic enrichment and
educator training. You might remember that as part of that proposed 10
percent cut, the Trump administration sought to eliminate 29 programs that received nearly $6.7 billion in federal aid. These programs
focused on Alaska Native Education, the Special Olympics (remember all that controversy?), and statewide data systems, among other areas. It turns out that
all 29 of those programs have kept their funding in the Education Department
spending bill the president just signed. And some of them, like the 21st
Century Community Learning Centers (which supports after-school programs), are
getting more money than they got last year.
Betsy DeVos: the billionaire Republican destroying public
education
Cuts,
attacks, rollbacks – the education secretary’s campaign to dismantle America’s
public system has continued unabated
The Guardian by David
Smith in Washington @smithinamerica Fri 27 Dec
2019 02.20 EST Last modified on Fri 27 Dec 2019 02.49 EST
Betsy DeVos has become accustomed to hostile audiences. The House of
Representatives’ education committee earlier this month was no exception. “When
you approach a public school, you are protested,” the Democratic congresswoman
Frederica Wilson told the
education secretary. “When
you enter, you are booed. You are the most unpopular person in our government.
Millions will register to vote in 2020. Many will vote to remove you more than to remove the president.”It was
a rare moment of clarity in the constant swirl of drama in Washington – border wall, Russia, partisan warfare, media bashing, tweets, impeachment – that seems to provide cover for Donald Trump’s cabinet secretaries to escape scrutiny. Chief among them is DeVos who,
critics say, is quietly and insidiously destroying
public education in America. DeVos’s record is proof, they argue, that when the smoke of the Trump presidency finally clears, the
substance of his legacy on policy, deregulation and stacking the
courts will
remain – and take far longer to repair. “We’ve had plenty of Republican as well
as Democratic secretaries of education but none of them, even those who
believed in alternatives to public education, actually tried to eviscerate
public education,” said Randi
Weingarten, the
president of the American Federation of Teachers. “Here is someone who in her
first budget tried to eliminate every single summer school programme, every
single after-school programme, and who has done everything in her power to try
to make it harder for us to strengthen public [sector] schools.”
Join us for Advocacy Day 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
PA SCHOOLS WORK:
Special Education Funding Webinar Tue, Jan 14, 2020 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST
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: Required School
Director Training
Your trusted and
approved source
The Pennsylvania
Department of Education has named PSBA an approved provider of required school
director training. Your association has more than 100 years of statewide
expertise in school law, policy, finance and ethical governance, so you can be
sure you’re receiving the highest quality learning, relevant to your role. To
learn when you or your board will be required to complete training hours,
please refer to PDE’s FAQs here
Act 55 and Act 18
Training requirements specific to you:
• Newly elected and appointed school board directors –
• Successful completion of five training hours.
• Re-elected school board directors –
• Successful completion of three training hours.
Training requirements specific to you:
• Newly elected and appointed school board directors –
• Successful completion of five training hours.
• Re-elected school board directors –
• Successful completion of three training hours.
PSBA knows that
everyone has unique scheduling requirements and distinct learning styles.
Therefore, we have created two pathways in meeting state requirements:
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, 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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