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
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
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PA Ed Policy Roundup for Jan. 14, 2020
Local Journalism Is in Crisis. That's a Big Problem for
Education
Education Week By Evie Blad January 7,
2020
Psst! Don’t let my editor read this! I’m a
national education reporter, and I’m about to make a case that educators should
care deeply about their local media.
You could be forgiven if you think all of the
important news is happening on the national level lately. If you have a news
app on your smartphone, you’ve likely had few mornings over the last several
years when you didn’t wake up to a screen of alerts about big, national stories
happening in Washington: scandals, investigations, bombastic tweets from the
president. It’s easy to get caught up in it. These people—who are hundreds or
thousands of miles away from many of us—are holding the future of our democracy
in their hands. And we are all trying to keep up. But I’m here to tell you our
nation’s future is also being written in rooms that are often not covered at
all: classrooms, school board meeting rooms, principals’ offices, and state
capitols where lawmakers hammer out the details of education spending that
affect millions of children. The people who should be in these rooms—the
education reporters and statehouse reporters who toil away at local papers,
connecting threads of ideas to give readers context and clarity—are dwindling
in numbers. Education and journalism are both crucial to democracy, and they
need each other.
Bipartisan effort by Congress could help save some local
newspapers [opinion]
Lancaster Online by THE LNP EDITORIAL BOARD January
14, 2020
THE ISSUE: Many small newspapers across
America are in dire economic straits — a situation exacerbated by the business
practices of the biggest technology companies — and Congress has responded with
some rare bipartisan agreement, The New York Times
reported in a story published in Monday’s
LNP | LancasterOnline. “The proposal would give news organizations an exemption
from antitrust laws, allowing them to band together to negotiate with Google
and Facebook over how their articles and photos are used online, and what
payments the newspapers get from the tech companies,” the Times reported.
We are pleased to see Republicans and
Democrats rally around an issue that relates directly to the freedom of the
press that’s so essential to democracy. Have no doubt: We cannot have “freedom
of the press” without having a press. Yet that is increasingly the case in many
U.S. communities. “Newspapers have faced devastating financial losses for
years,” the Times explained. “One
in five newspapers has closed since 2004 in the United States, and about half
of the nation’s more than 3,000 counties have only one newspaper, many of them
printing weekly, according to a report by the University of North Carolina
published in late 2018.” Areas with little or no local newspaper coverage become
“news deserts.” It is an awful thing for any community.
The kid was wrong: Pa.’s Safe2SaySomething school safety
line gets 40K+ tips in its first year
Penn Live By Matt
Miller | mmiller@pennlive.com Updated Jan
13, 2020;Posted Jan 13, 2020
When state Attorney General Josh Shapiro told
his four kids about Safe2SaySomething, a student safety tip line his office was
launching, one of them, a high-schooler, wasn’t too impressed. “He looked at me
and said, ‘Dad, that’s stupid. Nobody’s going to use that’,” Shapiro recalled. Well,
the kid was wrong. As Safe2Say hits its first anniversary, it has
fielded 40,382 contacts from students in every single school district in
Pennsylvania, Shapiro said during a news conference Monday afternoon. “I can
tell you unequivocally that the investment has paid off,” he said, as the staff
at Safe2Say’s temporary center in Lemoyne worked behind him. “We receive over
100 tips every day.” He said there have been some surprises since the
Legislature tasked him with setting up the 24/7 anonymous tip line in
conjunction with Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit school safety group formed
following a December 2012 massacre at an elementary school in Connecticut.
One year in, crisis center to stop school violence in Pa.
has fielded more than 40,000 tips
The partnership between Sandy Hook Promise
and the state Attorney General's office aims to prevent mass shootings and help
children dealing with problems.
WITF by Brett Sholtis/Transforming
Health JANUARY 13, 2020 | 6:23 PM
(Lemoyne) — One year after the state Attorney
General launched a tip line and mobile app to prevent unsafe activity at
schools, his office has fielded more than 40,000 tips. The Safe2Say
Something crisis center gets about 100
tips every day, and they’ve come from every school district in the state, said
Attorney General Josh Shapiro. The partnership with Sandy
Hook Promise aims to stop mass shootings, and
there’s evidence it may have helped to do that already. Last May, two
students were arrested after threatening to “shoot up”
Unionville High School in Chester County. Last January,
a student reported a threat of gun violence from another student on the social
media platform Snapchat, leading police to investigate. Both tips
came through the Safe2Say program, according to officials at those schools.
Your View by State Sen. Browne: Let’s keeping pushing
fiscal responsibility in Pennsylvania
By PAT BROWNE THE MORNING CALL | JAN
11, 2020 | 11:00 AM
Entering the third decade of a new
millennium, probably the best way to encapsulate this transition is “What a
difference a decade makes.” During the past 10 years, Pennsylvania, like many
states, experienced its most challenging fiscal period since the Great
Depression. Historic declines in tax revenue resulted in enormous deficits
requiring many programmatic sacrifices to achieve fiscal balance. Now, thanks
to years of financial discipline demanded by the Senate Appropriations
Committee, coupled with improvements in the state’s economy, the commonwealth’s
fiscal position is considerably stronger. For the first time in over 10 years,
2018-2019 actual revenues were ahead of official estimate by $883 million, and
the 2019-2020 budget was adopted with a surplus of more than $300 million. The
current state budget is balanced without tax increases and controls spending to
1.8% over the prior year, less than the rate of inflation. Despite its overall
austerity, the budget increases support for essential services to seniors,
families and citizens with disabilities, promotes workforce development efforts
and bolsters education spending at all levels.
PSBA’s 2019 Pennsylvania School Facts and Figures is now
available
Do you know how many students are enrolled in
Pennsylvania public schools? There are 1.72 million total (912,775 elementary
and 809,686 secondary for the 2018-19 school year). These facts and many more
can be found in the 2019 PA School Facts and Figures.
It is designed to help school directors respond quickly to questions from the public and contains the most current statewide information available. To request a PDF copy email research-info@psba.org or see it at https://www.psba.org/report/facts-figures/.
It is designed to help school directors respond quickly to questions from the public and contains the most current statewide information available. To request a PDF copy email research-info@psba.org or see it at https://www.psba.org/report/facts-figures/.
N.J. school segregation lawsuit moves forward, judge
orders districts to be notified
Decision advances the case, in which
plaintiffs cite de facto segregation as district boundaries align with
municipal borders that divide people by race and wealth.
The notebook by Joe Hernandez WHYY NEWS January 13
— 6:22 pm, 2020
A judge ruled Friday that a major lawsuit
against the state of New Jersey over racial and socioeconomic segregation in
the public school system can move forward. The complaint, first filed in 2018,
alleges that New Jersey has de facto segregation of its public school system,
because district boundaries roughly align with municipal boundaries, which are
largely segregated by race and wealth. Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson
refused to toss the case but ordered the plaintiffs, a group of social justice
nonprofits and parents, to notify all of the state school districts of the
ongoing lawsuit. Although Jacobson did not agree to name the state’s 584
districts as defendants, as the state Attorney General’s Office had wanted, the
judge did say she was “concerned” that none of the districts were participating
in the case. Plaintiffs say this violates the New Jersey constitution by
racially segregating students and depriving them of a “thorough and efficient”
education. According to state data used in the complaint, more than 100,000
Black and Latino students attended schools that were at least 99% non-white.
Special election for 48th District Pa. Senate
seat: Hours, polls and more info
Penn Live By Ron
Southwick | rsouthwick@pennlive.com Today 5:00
AM
Voters will decide Tuesday who will win a
seat to the Pennsylvania Senate in the 48th District. Republican David Arnold
and Democrat Michael Schroeder are vying for the seat, which represents Lebanon
County and parts of Dauphin and York counties. The seat was vacated when former Sen. Mike Folmer
resigned following his arrest for child
pornography in September. Arnold, 48, is the Lebanon County
district attorney and has held that post since 2006. Schroeder is a 61-year-old
college history professor and community/environmental activist. The winning
candidate will receive a $90,335-a-year post and be one of 50 members in the
Pennsylvania Senate.
Pa. state Senate special election: Everything you need to
know before you vote
York Daily Record by Nora Shelly, Lebanon
Daily News Published 10:41 a.m. ET Jan. 13, 2020 | Updated 2:58 p.m. ET
Jan. 13, 2020
Voters in Lebanon, York and Dauphin
counties will be heading to the polls Tuesday to decide who should replace
former State Sen. Mike Folmer. Folmer resigned in September after being
arrested on child pornography charges. Lebanon County District Attorney Dave
Arnold is running for his seat on the Republican ticket, against Democrat
Michael Schroeder, a history professor at Lebanon Valley College. The 48th
Senate District encompasses all of Lebanon County and slivers of Dauphin and
York counties, including Mount Wolf, the York County borough where Gov. Tom
Wolf lives. It also includes Springettsbury Township and other northeastern
area York County municipalities. Arnold and Schroeder differ greatly on key
issues, including gun control, marijuana legalization and property taxes. Read
more about Arnold's positions here, and
Schroeder's here.
Liberal Super PAC Targets Killion, Laughlin Races
PoliticsPA Written by John Cole, Managing
Editor January 11, 2020
Flipping Republican controlled state
legislatures is a key focus of various Democratic backed groups heading into
the 2020 election prior to redistricting. American Bridge, a liberal
Super PAC that describes itself as
“the largest research, video tracking, and rapid response organization in
Democratic politics” announced that they are targeting state legislature races
in four specific states that includes two state Senate races in Pennsylvania,
according to the Huffington Post. “If
Democrats don’t win back state chambers in 2020, another decade of Republican
gerrymandering could really hamper our ability to keep our majority in the
House,” said Katie Parrish, Gubernatorial & State Legislative Campaigns
Communications Director, American Bridge 21st Century in an interview with
PoliticsPA. “Plus state legislatures make policies that impact our daily
lives.” As of now, the super PAC is targeting Senate Districts 9 and 49,
held by state Sens. Tom Killion (R-Delaware) and Dan Laughlin (R-Erie).
Pa. House staffer to run for Pa. House seat representing
part of Dauphin County
Penn Live By Jan
Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com Posted Jan
13, 2020
A policy and research analyst for the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives has announced her candidacy for the 105th
House District representing a portion of Dauphin County. Brittney Rodas, 24, of
West Hanover Township, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the April 28
primary to take on Republican one-term incumbent Andrew Lewis in the
fall. Lewis announced his
re-election bid last week. Rodas touts the experience and
knowledge she has gained in her work in the state House in crafting policy and
working with stakeholders and constituents as qualifying her for the position
and making her ready to begin serving on day one. She currently is on leave
from her job to run for office.
Master’s of None
Teachers across the country earn grad degrees
to get raises. Turns out those degrees don’t improve student learning—they just
fatten universities’ bottom lines.
Washington Monthly by Grace GedyeJanuary/February/March 2020
David Firestone, an associate special ed
teacher in New York City, is in his final semester of a master’s program at the
Hunter College School of Education. Yet he still feels like he hasn’t learned
one of the core skills of teaching. “No one has ever bothered to teach us
how to write a real lesson plan,” he told me in November. “They just care that we
know how to write edTPA lesson plans.” He was referring to the test you’re
required to pass in New York State to become certified as a teacher. A
real-world lesson plan is usually half a page, maybe a little more. What the
program has instead drilled into him is how to write the kind of document he
will submit to get his teaching license: a super-detailed, eight-page plan,
essentially a script of everything he’d say in a class. As a full-time
associate special ed teacher and a graduate student on the side, Firestone has
a finely calibrated sense of time—how to divvy it up, maximize it, save it. He
leaves his house in central Brooklyn at seven to get to school in south
Brooklyn by eight, teaches a full day of classes, and finishes just before
three. Then he spends an hour and 20 minutes trekking to the Upper East Side of
Manhattan to take grad school classes, which can run until 9:40 p.m. He often
doesn’t get home until after 11. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for
eight-page lesson plans. Frequently he writes his on the subway. It’s a
schedule that he described alternately as “brutal” and “God awful.” So
why do it? Because he has to. Right now, one of the most common ways that
school districts attempt to increase teacher quality is through master’s degrees.
Some states, like New York, Maryland, and Connecticut, require that teachers
get master’s degrees in order to keep teaching. Far more states encourage
teachers to get them by tying them to pay raises.
The 2018 Small Donor Boom Was Drowned Out by Big Donors,
Thanks to Citizens United
Ten years later, the legacy of Citizens
United is a system where the importance of wealthy donors is ballooning with no
end in sight.
Brennan Center for Justice by Ian Vandewalker January 10,
2020
In much of the media, the money-in-politics
story of the 2018 midterms was massive engagement by small donors across the
board, especially as a weapon for Democrats in reaction to
Donald Trump’s polarizing presidency. But that story obscured an even bigger
increase in donations of more than $100,000 from a tiny number of people. Even
after a surge in activism, grassroots energy and online fundraising tools
are still no match for the boost that the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling
gave to big money 10 years ago this month. On the contrary, the
proportion of money coming from megadonors is rapidly increasing. In Citizens
United, the Court struck down limits on political spending by corporations
and unions. The opinion argued that
political money won’t corrupt politicians if it’s not given directly to them,
paving the way for the creation of super PACs and unlimited outside spending —
money that doesn’t go directly to candidates but to groups that work to elect
those candidates. These channels are the vehicles that the biggest donors use
to influence who runs and who wins. To be sure, 2018 was a banner year
for small donations. Donors who gave $200 or less contributed $1.4
billion to campaigns and political committees, a more than 50 percent increase
over the last midterm cycle. But donors who gave more than $100,000
together contributed almost $2 billion, well over twice the total from
2014, resulting in a much greater portion of election funding coming from them
than small donors.
School Leaders: Register today for @PSBA @PASA @PAIU Advocacy
Day at the Capitol on March 23rd and you could be the lucky winner of my school
board salary for the entire year. Register now at http://mypsba.org
For more information: https://www.psba.org/event/advocacy-day-2020/
PA SCHOOLS WORK:
Special Education Funding Webinar Tue, Jan 14, 2020 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST
Charter
Schools; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
PENNSYLVANIA BULLETIN PROPOSED RULEMAKING DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION [ 22 PA. CODE CH. 711 ]
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 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
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
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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