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, 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.
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Keystone
State Education Coalition
PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 23, 2020
Biden Picks
Connecticut Schools Chief Miguel Cardona for Ed Secretary
The PA Ed Policy
Roundup may be intermittent through New Years. Wishing you all safe and happy
holidays. Thanks for your commitment to educating our kids, especially during
this challenging year.
Educators, Students
and Schools Come Up Short in Coronavirus Relief Package
Funding to
help some 12 million children with little to no internet access vanished from
the $54 billion in aid to K-12 schools, despite wide support from both sides of
the aisle.
US News By Lauren
Camera, Senior Education Writer Dec. 21, 2020, at
5:53 p.m.
AS CONGRESS
TIES THE bow on a long-awaited and contentious coronavirus relief package,
superintendents, principals and educators are disappointed – though not
surprised – by how little aid it includes for their efforts to reopen the
country's public school system for millions of children who have been learning
remotely since the pandemic shuttered schools in March. What stunned many of
them, though, was that dedicated funding to help the estimated 12 million
children with little to no internet access had vanished – funding that, during
a months-long negotiating process rife with partisan bickering, garnered wide
support from both sides of the aisle. "There was relatively broad,
bipartisan support from Capitol Hill to recognize the critical need to support
learners remotely," says Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director
of advocacy and governance at AASA, The School Superintendents Association,
about a plan to fund the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program,
which provides discounted internet to schools and libraries. "This was a
huge missed opportunity," she says. "This was like our unicorn that
had bipartisan support, and this is what went away in negotiations? What
happened?" The $900 billion relief package, which Congress was poised to
pass Monday night, includes $54 billion for K-12 education to help states
reopen their schools for in-person learning and another $2.75 billion for
governors to spend on K-12 education at their discretion.
PSBA: Education sees
boost in government spending, with $82B in COVID-19 relief
POSTED
ON DECEMBER 22, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS
The House
and Senate passed a massive
omnibus bill that included all 12 fiscal year 2021
appropriations bills, the COVID relief package and other measures. For a full
section-by-section breakdown of all the COVID relief measures, including the
education, unemployment, and health provisions, view this document.
10 questions about
the new stimulus money for schools, answered
Chalkbeat By Matt Barnum Dec 22, 2020, 3:42pm EST
After months
of waiting and watching, public schools are
set to receive billions to
help respond to and recover from the pandemic. Congress has passed — and
President Trump is expected to sign — a package designed to boost the economy, help
families, and support K-12 and higher education. What does it all mean for
school reopening, learning loss, and your school district? Let’s dig in.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/22/22195843/stimulus-schools-education-explainer
Biden Picks
Connecticut Schools Chief Miguel Cardona for Education Secretary
Education
Week By Andrew Ujifusa & Evie Blad December 22, 2020
President-elect
Joe Biden announced Tuesday he will nominate Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s
education commissioner and a former teacher and public school principal, to be
the next secretary of education. Cardona would replace U.S. Secretary of
Education Betsy DeVos, who has led the department for nearly four years and did
not have a background as an educator when she took over the Department of
Education in 2017. Cardona was appointed Connecticut’s top K-12 official in
August of last year by Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat. Cardona worked as an
elementary school teacher in Connecticut and served as a principal for 10 years
in the Meriden, Conn., school district, according to his biography on the state education department’s
website. In announcing his selection of Cardona, Biden said in a statement, “He
will help us address systemic inequities, tackle the mental health crisis in
our education system, give educators a well-deserved raise, ease the burden of
education debt, and secure high-quality, universal pre-K for every three- and
four year-old in the country.”
Where Biden’s Choice
for Education Secretary Stands on Key K-12 Issues
Education
Week By Evie Blad — December 22, 2020 8 min
read
Connecticut
Education Commission Miguel Cardona, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for
U.S. secretary of education, would have to navigate myriad contentious
education debates if the Senate confirms him for the role. Among them:
addressing student segregation, winning public trust and reopening school
buildings during the COVID-19 crisis, and setting policies related to
accountability and charter schools. Here is where Cardona stands on some of
these key K-12 issues.
Biden picks Miguel
Cardona, Connecticut schools chief, as education secretary
Washington Post
By Laura
Meckler, Valerie
Strauss and Matt
Viser Dec. 22, 2020 at 7:48 p.m.
President-elect
Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will nominate Miguel Cardona, the commissioner
of public schools in Connecticut, as his education secretary, settling on a
low-profile candidate who has pushed to reopen pandemic-shuttered schools and
is not aligned with either side in the education policy battles of recent
years. Cardona, 45, did not enjoy the same level of enthusiastic support as
some others who were considered for the post, but he also did not draw any
significant opposition. Rather, he is seen as capable of working with people
across the education spectrum. He was named Connecticut’s top schools official
last year and, if confirmed for the national job, will have achieved a meteoric
rise, moving from assistant superintendent in his hometown of Meriden, Conn., a
district with 9,000 students, to secretary of education in less than two years.
He was born in Meriden to Puerto Rican parents who lived in public housing and
has a personal story the Biden team found compelling. He was the first in his
family to attend college and was raised in a Spanish-speaking home. He began
his career as a fourth-grade teacher and rocketed up the ranks, becoming the
state’s youngest principal at age 28. He was named the state’s principal of the
year in 2012.
Biden Picks Latino
Chief of Connecticut Schools as Education Secretary
Miguel A.
Cardona will fulfill Joe Biden’s promise to appoint a diverse cabinet with an
education secretary with public school experience.
New York
Times By Erica L. Green and Eliza Shapiro Dec. 22, 2020
WASHINGTON —
In August, Connecticut’s schools chief, Miguel A. Cardona, logged on to a virtual meeting of New
Haven’s school board, ostensibly to hear why its members had decided not to
open the state’s largest school district for in-person classes this fall. Most
of the district’s students had not fully participated in remote learning, he
said. Its most vulnerable populations had the most to lose by not returning to
school buildings, and the district had met public health metrics for reopening.
But although Dr. Cardona later suggested the board reconsider, he declined to
overrule it. “All of you, whether you have a very strong position on one end or
the other, are here because you care about the success of children and the
community,” he concluded. That approach, leaning in to reopening while
remaining respectful of local control, could soon go national, with President-elect
Joseph R. Biden Jr. announcing the nomination of Dr. Cardona as his education
secretary. If confirmed, Dr. Cardona would face the most urgent education
crisis in decades, and whether he can press schools to reopen without turning
the issue into a partisan matter, as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos did, could
have major repercussions for the young Biden administration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/biden-education-secretary.html
NSBA and CABE
Statement on U.S. Education Secretary Announcement
Alexandria,
Va., December 22, 2020
In response
to the nomination of Dr. Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education, the National
School Boards Association (NSBA) and Connecticut Association of Boards of
Education (CABE) issued the following statements:
Anna Maria Chávez, Executive Director and CEO of the National School Boards
Association (NSBA): “We are pleased that Dr. Miguel Cardona has been nominated
as Secretary of Education for President-Elect Biden’s Administration. Dr.
Cardona’s lifetime commitment to transforming public education is critical at a
time like this, when our education system is reeling with the uncertainty of
COVID-19, a lack of resources that strains our capacity for safe, in-person
schooling, and the digital divide that hinders our students’ transition to
remote or hybrid learning.
“NSBA has launched our Public School Transformation Now! Initiative this year
to put our public students and their individual needs at the center of
learning, as well as fight for a more just and equitable education system. With
a longstanding relationship with CABE and his commitment to public education in
Connecticut and around the nation, we know Dr. Cardona will be an ally in this
fight. "We need greater investments in public education now. We look
forward to working with Dr. Cardona to ensure our country’s public schools and
the students they serve are provided with the resources and support that are so
badly needed to transform the future of public education. By working in
partnership with the federal government, we can equip, empower, and educate the
next generation of American leaders so that one day, they too can take up our
nation’s fight for a better tomorrow.”
https://nsba.org/News/2020/NSBA-CABE-Statement-on-US-Education-Secretary-Announcement
Philadelphia schools
due for more than $400 million from COVID-19 relief
Chalkbeat
Philly By Dale
Mezzacappa Dec 22, 2020, 7:08pm EST
The
Philadelphia school district is in line to get more than $400 million from the
coronavirus relief legislation passed by Congress — but that doesn’t mean the
system’s fiscal woes are over, Chief Financial Officer Uri Monson said Tuesday.
The money “buys us 18 months for the local economy to recover and for things to
normalize,” he said. It will also let the board of education focus on its goals
for improving student achievement rather than worrying about plugging budget
holes. “It’s not a moment we suddenly sit back and say, ‘Great, now we have
nothing to worry about’” regarding funding, he said. “This is one-time money,
so we can’t paper over structural issues.” The $900 billion federal relief
package allocates about $57 billion to K-12 education. Most of that, $54.3
billion, is for public schools, including charters. The money is expected to be
allocated based on the formula for the Title I program. Title I is the federal
government’s primary program to aid low-income students and districts. Pennsylvania
would be due nearly $2 billion of the education money, and Philadelphia would
receive nearly a quarter of that. In the last COVID-19 relief bill,
Pennsylvania received about $473 million, of which Philadelphia’s share was
more than $100 million. Monson said he doesn’t have an exact figure yet for the
latest round of stimulus funding. The legislation, which runs to more than
5,500 pages, gives districts wide latitude for spending, but homes in on
addressing student learning loss, investing in improvements to school
facilities to mitigate the spread of the virus, and upgrading technology.
Guest column:
Pennsylvanians need liability protections
Pottstown
Mercury Opinion By Ryan Costello Guest columnist December 23, 2020
Ryan
Costello represented Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District from 2015 to
2019.
The
Pennsylvania School Boards Association is calling on lawmakers to enact
liability protections for schools. As one board member notes, it is unfair for
schools to follow all available public health guidance and “end up being sued
because someone got sick from the coronavirus.” I wholeheartedly agree. But
it’s not just schools that need protecting. Pennsylvania manufacturers, small
businesses, and nonprofits are also grappling with similar concerns; they are
shuttering their doors at an already dire economic time. This cannot continue.
I had the privilege of serving Pennsylvanians in Congress for four years —
working with anyone to advance fair and thoughtful solutions. I am calling on
our state’s current Congressional delegation to push for commonsense liability
protections so our small businesses and schools can safely reopen.
OPEN BOARD POSITIONS
FOR THE PA PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION 2021 ELECTION
PA
Principles Association Press Release Tuesday, December 22, 2020 10:27 AM
Dr. Melanie
Susi, Principal,
Shamona Creek Elementary in the Downingtown Area School District, has been
appointed by President Jonathan Ross to serve as the chairperson of
the 2021 PA Principals Association Nominations Committee to oversee
the 2021 election. Her committee is made up of Dr. David Wiedlich,
Principal, Radnor Middle School in the Radnor Township School District;
and Matthew Dziunycz, Principal, Brandywine Heights High School in
the Brandywine Heights Area School District. If you are interested in running
for one of the open board positions (shown below) in the 2021
election, please contact Stephanie Kinner at kinner@paprincipals.org for an application. Applications
must be received in the state office by Friday, February 19, 2021.
Click here for
the Duties and Responsibilities of the President.
Click here for
the Duties and Responsibilities of the Regional Representative.
https://www.paprincipals.org/publications/press-releases
Philly school board
nominating process has lacked transparency | Opinion
Deanna
Burney, For the Inquirer Posted: December 23, 2020
Mayor Jim
Kenney convened a panel Dec. 16 to nominate nine candidates, from 82
applicants, to fill three vacant Board of Education seats. These nominees now go to the mayor for his
picks, which City Council will need to approve. Those selected will assume a wide range of
BOE responsibilities including to oversee all major policy,
budgetary, and financial decisions for the district, appoint and evaluate the
superintendent of schools, adopt annual operating and capital budgets, and
authorize charter schools. Some important elements went missing from this
selection process thus far, as has been the case since the board was
re-established in 2018. Panel deliberations took place behind closed doors,
without public involvement or transparency. There was no opportunity for
the community to ask questions and receive responses about the full list
of applicants, which was not made public, or any disclosure as to how the panel
reached their decision. The first time applicant names were released was via
the list of chosen nominees. Only a handful of public statements took place
during the meeting when the panel made the announcement.
PSBA Governing Board
votes to endorse Otto Voit for the PSERS Board of Trustees
POSTED
ON DECEMBER 14, 2020 IN PSBA NEWS
Otto Voit,
school board director for Muhlenberg School District has been selected by the
PSBA Governing Board as their endorsed candidate to serve on the PSERS Board of
Trustees. If elected, he will represent the interests of the Pennsylvania
School Boards Association membership and all public school districts statewide.
By unanimous vote, the board approved Voit for the endorsement based on his
extensive financial and leadership expertise, along with his volunteer
involvement in both PSBA leadership and the PA School District Liquid Asset
Fund board. Voit is a former PSBA treasurer and former chairman and current
trustee on the PA School District Liquid Asset Fund board, which oversees
investments of more than $7 billion in public fund assets on behalf of local
education agencies and municipal entities. He is currently the chief financial
officer for Natural Food Group, an international packaging and food
distribution company. His professional experiences and career roles have included
CFO and president for an international manufacturing corporation, CFO for an
Inc 500 company, as well as a software development company where he was also a
partner. An interview with Voit will be hosted by PSBA CEO Nathan Mains
on Video Edition on Thursday, December 17, 2020.
Plum School District
students to return to hybrid class schedule Jan. 11
Trib Live by
MICHAEL DIVITTORIO | Tuesday, December
22, 2020 10:42 p.m.
Plum School
District officials plan to welcome students back to school in a hybrid class
schedule in a few weeks. Administrators had previously slated the first Monday
in January as a return date for students and staff after being moved to all
virtual learning due to rising covid cases both
in the district and Allegheny County. The new return date is Monday, Jan. 11. The
hybrid scheduling splits students into two groups each attending in-person
classes two days a week and remote learning on off days. “This extension will
permit an appropriate number of days for those who may have been exposed over
the holiday period to come to school without fear of impacting others,”
Superintendent Brendan Hyland said Tuesday night.
PIAA board votes to
reduce number of required practices to resume winter sports
By KEITH
GROLLER THE MORNING CALL | DEC 22, 2020 AT 7:07
PM
While
waiting to hear whether high school sports will be allowed to resume Jan. 4,
the PIAA board of control voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce the number of
required preseason practices from 15 to 10, giving teams a chance to get back
on the basketball court, wrestling mat or swimming pool sooner. Teams that have
already completed 15 preseason practices must complete four days of practice
before being allowed to have games or scrimmages. Sports that often require the
use of off-site facilities such as swimming, gymnastics, bowling and rifle
would only be required to complete five practice days before returning to
competition since there are often scheduling conflicts at nonschool sites.
Public Schools Face
Funding ‘Death Spiral’ as Enrollment Drops
Congress is
sending more relief money to schools, but coronavirus-related costs and
declining state funding tied to student enrollment are driving districts toward
a financial crisis.
New York Times
By Shawn Hubler, Kate Taylor and Amelia Nierenberg Dec. 22, 2020
SACRAMENTO —
In Texas, the Austin public schools might lay off 200 people and still not fill
the financial hole created by the coronavirus. Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington
has proposed two new taxes to help pay for catching up students who fell behind
during remote learning. And in Los Angeles, the costs of virus testing, laptops
and free meals for families have mounted to more than $400 million. Even with a
promised lifeline of billions of federal dollars, public schools in many parts
of the country are headed for a financial cliff, as the coronavirus drives up
the costs of education while tax revenue and student enrollment continue to
fall. Schools can expect about $54 billion from the coronavirus stimulus
plan approved
by Congress late Monday night, or nearly four times what K-12 education
received in a March relief package. The deal also includes $7 billion to expand
broadband access for students who have trouble logging on, and continued
funding for school meal programs. But school officials say that is not nearly
enough to make up for the crushing losses state and local budgets have suffered
during the pandemic, or the costs of both remote learning and attempts to bring
students back to classrooms. Advocates for public education estimate that
schools have lost close to $200 billion so far.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/public-schools-enrollment-stimulus.html
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
337 PA school boards have
adopted charter reform resolutions
Charter school funding reform continues to be
a concern as over 330 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.
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