These daily emails are archived and searchable at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org
Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition
Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Nov. 10, 2020
Top Biden Aide Talks Reopening Schools, Education Funding, Charters and More
“The district’s cyber academy costs under $3,000 per student per year as opposed to the $15,000 to $30,000 per student the state mandates that school districts pay commercial cyber schools. This money can come from only one place: the taxpayers. The legislature has essentially handed unelected, unaccountable, private entities the power to tax.”
Letter: Charter schools are taking taxpayers' money
Pocono Record Letter by Merlyn Clarke,
Stroudsburg Area School Board member, Stroud Township November 4, 2020
Stroudsburg School District was billed
$1,062,105 for cyber school tuition payments for the month of September. Do the
math: this translates to over $10,000,000 for the 10-month school year. And of
course, it could go higher. Stroudsburg is no exception. These amounts are unconscionable.
The district’s cyber academy costs under $3,000 per
student per year as opposed to the $15,000 to $30,000 per student the state
mandates that school districts pay commercial cyber schools. This money can
come from only one place: the taxpayers. The legislature has essentially handed
unelected, unaccountable, private entities the power to tax. The charter
school funding law is nothing short of governmental malfeasance. It is past
time for the legislature to do something about this obscenity. School districts
should not be forced into bankruptcy, and the public should not be forced to
pay for these rent seeking, poor performing enterprises that enrich the
operators, use taxpayer money to advertise and, yes, use taxpayer money to
lobby the legislature to keep this racket going. When will the legislature take
action?
Blogger note: PDE is scheduled to hold the second of two public
(virtual) hearings on new cyber charter school applications this week.
PA Department of Education Cyber Charter School
Application (Virtual) Hearing Agenda for Thursday, November 12, 2020 9:00 A.M.
Executive Education Cyber Charter School
“Twenty-four more Southern Tioga students opted to go with a
cyber charter school this year, compared to last year. The increased cost was
almost $271,000”
COVID-19 puts financial strain on school district
Tioga Publishing By Halie Kines hkines@tiogapublishing.com Nov 4, 2020
BLOSSBURG — The coronavirus has had a huge
financial impact on the Southern Tioga School District, the board learned
during the Nov. 2 special voting board meeting. With an increase in Cyber
Charter schools, MyCyber Campus, substitute services, technology and personal
protective equipment, the district is expecting to be over budget by more than
$600,000. In anticipation of increased costs, the school board voted to budget
more than it would in “normal years” to these areas, making the total financial
impact more like over $1 million. Twenty-four more Southern Tioga students
opted to go with a cyber charter school this year, compared to last year. The
increased cost was almost $271,000, but the estimated increase above the
budgeted amount is $47,963. These numbers are very fluid and constantly
changing.
Top Biden Aide Talks
Reopening Schools, Education Funding, Charters and More
Provides on-the-record comments in
pre-election webinar
Education Writers Association NOVEMBER 9, 2020 ERIK ROBELEN
President-elect Joe Biden has a far-reaching
education agenda that begins with actions to help schools reopen for in-person
instruction, as well as plans to reverse key Trump administrative actions and
more. In a recent, on-the-record webinar, the Biden campaign’s national policy
director, Stef Feldman, fielded questions from the Education Writers
Association and its members from around the country. Below are key excerpts
from that wide-ranging, one-hour conversation on October 22,
2020. Journalists and others are welcome to quote from the transcript
here, though we ask that you cite the EWA webinar as the source. You can
also watch the full video.
On some issues, Feldman declined to make firm
commitments. For example, she stopped short of saying whether a Biden
administration would grant states a waiver for a second year of statewide
testing required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. “This is an
important question that a Biden/Harris transition team would have to look at,”
she said. “In some ways, the answer to this question depends on how much
progress we can make in supporting our schools and getting them back up and
running.” Feldman also reiterated that Biden would nominate “a
former public school educator” to be his secretary of education, but declined
to clarify whether this would be someone with experience in K-12 or higher
education. Some of Biden’s agenda items that require congressional approval
will likely face a tough road, especially if Republicans retain control of the
U.S. Senate. Democrats must win run-offs in two U.S. Senate races from Georgia
to achieve a 50-50 split. If that happens, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris could
provide a tie-breaking vote.
Feldman’s comments, which are drawn both from
her opening remarks and in response to audience questions, are organized
by topic. They include:
- Reopening
schools
- FEMA
and emergency aid
- Executive
actions on transgender students and sexual assault
- Title
I aid and teacher pay
- Addressing
pandemic-driven learning gaps, social-emotional needs
- HBCUs
and MSIs
- Civil
rights enforcement
- Charter
schools
- Student
loans
- School
safety and police on campus
- For-profit
colleges
- Child
care
- Repairing
school buildings
- Tax
increases
- School
segregation
- Turning
around low-performing schools.
With election results unresolved, General Assembly delays
internal leadership elections
PA Capital Star By Stephen Caruso November 9,
2020
With a number of key legislative races still
undecided amid the slow count of mail-in ballots, some of the internal
elections to decide who will lead the four partisan caucuses in the House and
Senate have been delayed. A week after each election, state lawmakers
traditionally return to the Capitol to pick which of their colleagues will
manage internal affairs ranging from, staffing to parking spaces, as well as
dictate policy and strategy for the next two years. These votes are held in
private. But elections for House and Senate Democrats, as well as Senate
Republicans, have been pushed back until at least Thursday to give time for
winners to be decided in a half dozen or so races and join their colleagues in
picking leadership. House Republicans still intend to move ahead with their
elections on Tuesday. The biggest question marks are among the House Democrats,
whose longtime leader is among the races still uncalled.
Here’s what GOP in Pa. are saying about Biden’s victory
and Trump’s refusal to concede
WHYY By Katie
Meyer
Sam Dunklau November 9, 2020
As Joe Biden was declared the winner of
Pennsylvania and the presidency, and President Donald Trump began issuing a
sustained string of tweets falsely declaring himself the
true victor in the election, Republicans in Pennsylvania had to quickly decide
how to react. Some responses, such as from U.S. Sen Pat Toomey, have been
fairly boilerplate, saying lawsuits and inquiries into the election results
should be allowed to play out. “Democracy succeeds only when all sides can
trust that the election process is fair and transparent,” said Toomey, who also
criticized Trump’s rhetoric in recent days. “Given the extremely close result,
the American people must be assured that the process is being conducted with
integrity.” Others have taken a more defiant approach, including several
rank-and-file members of the House Republican Caucus who are calling for
Pennsylvania’s electoral college votes to be put on hold until the results of
a “legislative-led election audit.”
As COVID-19 cases rise, Pa. doesn’t plan statewide school
closure but is advising some to go remote
Penn Live By David
Wenner | dwenner@pennlive.com Updated Nov
09, 2020; Posted Nov 09, 2020
Pennsylvania’s health secretary said Monday
that COVID-19 is spreading at a troubling rate, but the state has no plans for
a statewide shutdown of schools similar to last spring. However, the level of
COVID-19 spread in many counties has the state advising local schools to shift
toward remote learning or even cease classroom instruction. “We absolutely do
not plan to have a general school closure as happened in spring, but we might
continue to make adjustments to our recommendations to schools,” Dr. Rachel
Levine said. “Remember, all the guidance and recommendations are just that.
They are not orders and there is local control in Pennsylvania and those
decisions are being made by local authorities.” The latest
recommendations from the state call for
schools to shift entirely to remote learning if the
weekly COVID-19 incidence rate in their county is more than 100 cases per
100,000 residents, or the rate of positive COVID-19 tests is more than 10%. As
of Monday, 38 counties are above that
threshold: Adams, Armstrong, Bedford,
Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Clarion,
Crawford, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Indiana,
Jefferson, Juniata, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mercer,
Mifflin, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Schuylkill,
Tioga, Union, Venango, Wyoming. That’s about a dozen more than a week ago. The
Wolf administration said the state education and health departments will be
talking with local officials about the implications of the levels of
coronavirus transmission.
As Pa. cases rises, Biden calls for Americans to wear
masks. Will it make a difference? | Tuesday Morning Coffee
PA Capital Star Commentary By John L. Micek November
10, 2020
Good Tuesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
True to his word, President-elect Joe
Biden pushed the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to the front of
his embryonic administration’s agenda on Monday morning, as he announced the 13-member task force he’s
formed to fight the worst public health threat in a century. “It doesn’t matter
who you voted for, where you stood before Election Day,” Biden said
in a brief remarks before the TV cameras, where he did not take questions. “It
doesn’t matter your party, your point of view. We can save tens of thousands of
lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months.” He
added: “Not Democratic or Republican lives — American lives,” the New York Times reported. Biden’s remarks
came as the United States cruised past 10 million COVID-19 cases and 238,000
deaths. And in the state of his birth, Pennsylvania, health officials announced 6,311 new cases of
COVID-19 between Sunday and Monday. The tally
brought the total of confirmed cases in the Keystone State to 234,296 cases in
all 67 counties since the start of the pandemic. Thus far, 9,024 Pennsylvanians
have died of the disease.
“We have experienced operational challenges including a shortage
of bus drivers that significantly impacts our district this week. As you may
know, bus companies have been struggling nationwide to adequately staff their
buses and during these times even more so."
Busing issues force Coatesville schools to go all virtual
West Chester Daily Local by Fran Maye fmaye@21st-centurymedia.com November 9,
2020
COATESVILLE — Coatesville Area School
District will remain in virtual instruction for the week of Nov. 9 through Nov.
13, Tomas Hanna, superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District
announced. "Our in-person special education students who have already been
attending school will still have in-person learning and bus transportation this
week," Hanna said in a statement released Sunday night. "We have experienced operational challenges including a
shortage of bus drivers that significantly impacts our district this week. As
you may know, bus companies have been struggling nationwide to adequately staff
their buses and during these times even more so." Some parents are
upset the decision was made so late.
Proposed Scranton School District budget includes 3.9%
tax increase
Times Tribune BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL STAFF WRITER Nov 9,
2020 Updated 48 min ago
Scranton property owners could see school
taxes increase 3.9% for next year under a proposed spending plan approved by
the Scranton School Board. That tax increase — the maximum allowed by the state
— still leaves the district with a $4.1 million shortfall for 2021. The board
originally passed a proposed preliminary budget in August that called for a 16%
tax increase, but the state rejected the district’s application to go above the
Act 1 index of 3.9%. The district’s financial recovery plan calls for taxes to
increase to at least the index rate each year. With an increase of 3.9%, or 5.4
mills, the owner of a property assessed at $10,000 would pay an additional $54
next year. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value. The
district’s total millage rate would rise to 142.9 mills. As the coronavirus
pandemic continues, much uncertainty surrounds the $170 million budget. From
revenue shortfalls to savings from virtual learning, many line items could
change.
Standoff brews between Philly school district and
teachers over return to classrooms
WHYY By Avi Wolfman-Arent November 10, 2020
The School District of Philadelphia and its
staff appear headed toward a school-reopening standoff. The district, so far,
is pushing ahead with plans to bring some school staff back to classrooms in
one week so that they can prepare to reopen schools on November 30 for students
in grades pre-K-2. The teachers union opposes the plan, and there’s no sign of
either side yielding as COVID-19 cases spike in the city. “I don’t believe we
should gamble with the lives of students and staff,” said Jerry Jordan,
president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Asked what the union
would do if the district goes through with a plan to bring staff back next
Monday, Jordan said simply: “We’re looking at all our options.” The district’s
original plan was to bring some staff back into buildings on November 9. That
was pushed back to November 16 — a delay caused by logistical hiccups,
Superintendent William Hite told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Are schools going remote now that Lancaster County has
reached 'substantial' community transmission? Not quite
Lancaster Online by ALEX GELI | Staff Writer November
10, 2020
Lancaster County has reached the
“substantial” level of community transmission of COVID-19, according to an
update to the state’s weekly early monitoring dashboard. Now what? The short
answer: Not much. Despite the spike in cases here, officials from several
Lancaster County schools contacted Monday afternoon said no sudden changes in
instructional models are planned. Those school officials were from Donegal,
Elizabethtown Area, Ephrata Area, Hempfield and Lampeter-Strasburg. Offcials
from other districts did not immediately respond to a request for comment. School
leaders had a phone call with the Pennsylvania Department of Education Monday
to discuss next steps. During the call, state education officials said schools
can wait to see if Lancaster County remains at the substantial level next week
to decide whether they should shift to remote instruction.
“In Lawrence County, the Mohawk Area, Shenango Area and
Wilmington Area school districts all recently moved to a virtual learning
model.”
More schools may close as COVID-19 numbers rise in
counties north of Pittsburgh
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Pittsburgh Post-Gazette agoldstein@post-gazette.com NOV 9, 2020
6:37 PM
As COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb
across Pennsylvania, Allegheny County has managed to stay at a level where
state health and education officials believe it is safe for students to return
to school for some in-person classes. But case numbers updated Monday show
several counties to the north are close to or have reached the point where the
state recommends schools move into a fully remote model of instruction. “Ultimately,
school leaders and school boards make decisions best suited for their
communities at the local level,” said Kendall Alexander, a spokesperson for the
state Department of Education. The state recommends schools go remote
when the county they are in has at least a two-week period at a “substantial”
transmission level, meaning an incidence rate of more than 100 cases per
100,000 residents, or a positivity rate of greater than 10%. As of Monday,
Lawrence, Armstrong and Indiana counties have been at a substantial
transmission level for at least two weeks, according to the state. Butler
and Indiana counties reached the substantial level for the last reported
seven-day period, Oct. 30 through Nov. 5.
“Also during Thursday’s meeting, board president Donna Yozwiak
said the school district will lose more than $12 million to cyber charter
schools, an education option whose popularity has increased during the COIVD-19
pandemic. “I have asked all the board members to advocate to our legislators
for them to take action for charter cyber reform,” Yozwiak said. Employees have
been asked — “voluntarily” — to do the same, and parents are being encouraged
to join the efforts.”
COVID-19 data trends, upcoming holidays suggest time
isn't right for 5-day school
Kathryne Rubright Pocono
Record November 9, 2020
At Thursday night’s Pleasant Valley school
board meeting, Superintendent Lee Lesisko said some parents have been asking
about their children returning to school five days a week. But COVID-19 cases
are climbing — new records for additional cases were set four times last
week, on Nov. 3, 5, 6 and 7 — and while two experts from St.
Luke’s University Health Network didn’t tell the board what to do, they did
highlight data trends and other concerning factors. Monroe County currently has
“moderate” transmission levels, said Rajika Reed, senior network director of
epidemiology and strategy. The Pennsylvania Department of Education recommends
blended learning or fully remote learning in counties with moderate
transmission. Pleasant Valley students are on a hybrid model that includes two
days per week in the classroom.
Central Dauphin School District scales back in-person
instruction: Report
Penn Live By Wallace McKelvey | WMckelvey@pennlive.com Updated Nov
09, 2020; Posted Nov 09, 2020
Central Dauphin School District will once
again scale back in-person instruction following the announcement Monday that a
middle-school student tested positive for COVID-19, according to a WHTM report.
The issue has been a particularly contentious
one, with the school board voting last
month to phase in a return to five-day in-class instruction. For now, at least,
that intention has been reversed. WHTM reported Monday that the entire Middle
School and the 5th grade at South Side Elementary has switched back to virtual
learning until Nov. 17.
North Hills reports 6 new covid cases, no instructional
changes planned
TRIBUNE-REVIEW by TONY LARUSSA | Monday,
November 9, 2020 3:48 p.m.
Six more positive covid cases have been
reported in the North Hills School District on Monday, according to officials. The
new cases bring the active total to 18 — 12
students and six staff members, according to an online tracker created by the
district. Because of the time frame for when the students and staff were last
in the buildings and when they began experiencing symptoms, no changes to the
hybrid form of instruction being used are required. The high school temporarily
switched to online-only instruction last week
after the covid cases were detected.
Kiski Area High School reports another coronavirus case
Trib Live by TEGHAN SIMONTON | Monday,
November 9, 2020 5:24 p.m.
A student at Kiski Area High School tested
positive for coronavirus, the school district said Friday. The high school will
remain open. According to a letter to district
families, the Department of Health was contacted and is identifying close
contacts of the student. Kiski Area reported at least seven infections among
students and staff since the beginning of the school year, but none have
resulted in building closures or a return to fully remote learning.
https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/kiski-area-high-school-reports-another-covid-case/
Emmaus and Parkland high schools to be closed this week
because of coronavirus cases
By CHRISTINA TATU THE MORNING
CALL |NOV 09, 2020 AT 7:42 PM
Both Emmaus and Parkland high schools will be
closed for several days because of coronavirus cases at the two schools. Parkland
High School will be closed for the remainder of the week and Emmaus High School
will be closed until next Tuesday. Parkland School District was notified by the
Pennsylvania Health Department on Monday that four people tested positive for
the virus, a notice on the school’s
website said.
Nazareth schools send alert of 2 new COVID-19 cases as
closure continues for week
By Nick
Falsone | For lehighvalleylive.com Updated Nov
09, 2020; Posted Nov 09, 2020
Nazareth Area School District has
received confirmation of two new COVID-19 cases, one at Lower Nazareth
Elementary School and the other at Nazareth Area High School, according to an
alert sent out Monday afternoon by Nazareth Area Superintendent Dennis Riker. The
alert says the district was notified of the cases on Sunday and Monday, but
can’t release additional information due to privacy laws. The district
initiated Pennsylvania Department of Health protocols immediately after being
notified, the alert says.
Millcreek delays 'full-time' return to school for K-5
students until January
GoErie by Valerie Myers Erie
Times-News November 9, 2020
The Millcreek Township School Board has put
the brakes on plans for elementary students to return to school in-person four
days a week on Nov. 30. School directors on Monday night unanimously
accepted schools Superintendent Ian Roberts' recommendation to delay that
return until Jan. 4. "As a community, in Erie County, we are now
experiencing the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases," Roberts said
in making his recommendation to the board. "And the Millcreek School
District is a microcosm of that." The spread rate of the virus is
"substantial," according to health department metrics, Roberts said. The
recommendation to delay four-day face-to-face instruction also is based on
parent and teacher survey responses and Erie County Department of Health
recommendations that the district provide protective workspace shields for
elementary students when they do return to classes full-time, Roberts said.
Fort Leboeuf School District goes virtual after probable
positive COVID-19 cases
YourErie Posted: Nov 9, 2020 / 04:54 PM
EST / Updated: Nov 9, 2020 / 07:16 PM EST
Area school districts are closely watching
the rising COVID numbers and superintendents are doing what they think is best
for students and their safety. Fort Leboeuf High School for example have now
returned to online learning for the next two weeks. Superintendent Rick Emerick
took that action after finding four probable positive cases in the schools.
Sugar Valley Rural Charter School closed today for deep
cleaning
North Central PA by NCPA Staff November 9,
2020
Loganton, Pa. – After announcing on Saturday
that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, the Sugar Valley Rural
Charter School will be closed today for deep cleaning. The school was informed
that a staff member tested positive for the virus on Nov. 7, CEO Tracie Kennedy
said in a letter to SVRCS families. Families of students who were in close
proximity to the teacher for 15 minutes or more will be contacted to discuss
quarantine plans, Kennedy said on Saturday.
With school switching to virtual learning, Warwick
forfeits District 3 football title to Governor Mifflin
Lancaster Online by JEFF REINHART | Sports Writer November 9,
2020
Warwick's football season is over. The
Warriors, slated to play in the District Three Class 5A championship game on
Friday against Governor Mifflin, have pulled out of the game because of
multiple COVID-19 cases in the school district. Governor Mifflin will receive
the victory via forfeit and advance to the state playoffs. "With our
school moving to virtual for the entire week due to COVID cases, we felt it was
the most appropriate course of action," Warwick athletic director Ryan
Landis said in a release. "With the number of active cases at our high
school growing to 14, we felt the decision to go virtual and stop all in-season
and out-of-season extra-curricular activities was our safest course of action
for our students and beyond our community."
Sen. Joe Gruters Proposes Private Vouchers For Florida
Families Opposed To Masks At School
WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7 | By Kerry Sheridan Published November
9, 2020 at 5:00 AM EST
According to Gruters, it's not "anti-mask
legislation," but rather aims to "empower families to make decisions
that are best for their children."
Republican state senator Joe Gruters says he
plans to introduce legislation to grant private school vouchers to parents who
don’t want their children to wear masks in school, even as coronavirus cases
continue to rise in Florida and across the nation. In a Facebook post last
month, the Sarasota lawmaker said the “Face Freedom” scholarships would be
structured like HOPE scholarships, which are
designed to help children who have been bullied move to another school. “With
families, not elected officials and bureaucrats, being the best decision makers
for their children, I believe that all families should have choice in education
- From deciding which academic programs best fit the needs of their children to
whether they believe their child should or should not be forced to wear a mask
in school all day,” Gruters wrote in the post, dated October 29. “Additionally,
by giving families options, this would force School District bureaucrats to
'face freedom' as a key consideration when implementing blanket mask mandates.”
Gruters won re-election to his state Senate seat on November 3. He did not
respond to WUSF’s requests for comment. The state legislative session starts in
March, so any such law, if passed, would not take effect until next school
year.
Adopt the resolution against racial inequity!
School boards are asked to adopt this
resolution supporting the development of an anti-racist climate. Once adopted,
share your resolution with your local community and submit a copy to PSBA.
Learn more: http://ow.ly/yJWA50B2R72
Adopt the 2020 PSBA resolution
for charter school funding reform
In this
legislative session, PSBA has been leading the charge with the Senate, House of
Representatives and the Governor’s Administration to push for positive charter
reform. We’re now asking you to join the campaign: Adopt the resolution: We’re
asking all school boards to adopt the 2020 resolution for charter school
funding reform at your next board meeting and submit it to your legislators and
to PSBA.
Resolution for charter funding reform (pdf)
Link
to submit your adopted resolution to PSBA
315 PA school boards have
adopted charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 300 school boards across the state have adopted a resolution
calling for legislators to enact significant reforms to the Charter School Law
to provide funding relief and ensure all schools are held to the same quality
and ethics standards. Now more than ever, there is a growing momentum from
school officials across the state to call for charter school funding reform.
Legislators are hearing loud and clear that school districts need relief from
the unfair funding system that results in school districts overpaying millions
of dollars to charter schools.
https://www.psba.org/2020/03/adopted-charter-reform-resolutions/
Know Your Facts on Funding and Charter Performance. Then
Call for Charter Change!
PSBA Charter Change Website:
https://www.pacharterchange.org/
The Network for Public Education Action Conference has
been rescheduled to April 24-25, 2021 at the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.