PA Ed Policy Roundup Dec. 12: SB2: Committee shuffle could make difference for Pa. school choice bill

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PA Ed Policy Roundup Dec. 12, 2017:

SB2: Committee shuffle could make difference for Pa. school choice bill


Tell your state senator to vote NO on Senate Bill 2
Take Action here  to Say No to Next Generation School Vouchers in PA
Action Network December 8, 2017
Under the bill, parents of students in low-achieving schools can receive funds in the form of Education Savings Accounts (ESA) to attend a participating nonpublic school and for other expenses. Low-achieving is defined as the lowest performing 15% of elementary and secondary public schools, based on PSSA and Keystone Exam scores. (This does not include charter schools or CTCs.) Those school districts would see their basic and special education subsidies reduced by the amount calculated for each participating student, with that money put into an ESA account for parents to use for “qualified education expenses.” Senate Bill 2 creates a program targeted to the same schools targeted by the existing EITC and OSTC scholarships that already can be used at private schools. ESA proposals have been introduced in various states across the country, and have been dubbed by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as “the next generation of vouchers.” 
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/say-no-to-next-generation-school-vouchers-in-pa?clear_id=true&source=direct_link

SB2: Committee shuffle could make difference for Pa. school choice bill
By Katie Meyer, WITF December 12, 2017
A contentious proposal to let students use Pennsylvania funds to pay for private school is getting another chance to make it onto the Senate floor.
Senate Bill 2 would create education savings accounts — a similar concept to private school vouchers — that would let students in the lowest-performing public schools use the money the state would have spent on their education for alternative school options, as well as textbooks and other related expenses. It failed to pass the Senate Education Committee in a tie vote in late October, and is now scheduled to be reconsidered in the same committee Tuesday. However, Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, one of the only GOP lawmakers to vote against the bill in October, may be moving off the panel. That could change the outcome of the vote, though Laughlin said his likely departure is unrelated to the bill. “I can see why it looks the way it does,” he said. “It had nothing to do with my decision, no.”
https://whyy.org/articles/committee-shuffle-make-difference-pa-school-choice-bill/

PA Senate Ed Committee to consider “Education Savings Account” Voucher bill SB2 on Tuesday, Room 8E-A East Wing 10:30 am
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?CteeBody=S&Code=23

“The trial is expected to last through the week, and Brobson has been tasked with issuing conclusions by the end of the year, which the state Supreme Court will then use to make its decision. That decision is expected early in January. A successful challenge could reshape the 2018 elections; lawyers for the state said in the federal trial that to maintain the current primary schedule they would need to know by Jan. 23 whether a new map would be used.”

Pa.'s map is so gerrymandered that random computer maps are fairer, expert says

Inquirer by Jonathan Lai, Staff Writer  @Elaijuh |  jlai@phillynews.com Updated: DECEMBER 11, 2017 — 12:24 PM EST

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s congressional map is so skewed toward Republicans that computer software tasked with randomly drawing maps produced hundreds of drawings that were more politically neutral, according to testimony Monday on the opening day of a state gerrymandering trial. “Partisan intent predominated the drawing” of the current congressional map, said University of Michigan political science professor Jowei Chen, an expert witness testifying for the group of Pennsylvania voters bringing the challenge. Republicans have won 13 of the state’s 18 seats in the House of Representatives since the map was adopted in 2011, even as votes in statewide and national elections have been roughly split between Democrats and Republicans. Chen said his software had generated 500 maps on what he called “traditional redistricting principles,” which included keeping populations equal across districts and avoiding splitting up counties and towns. The majority of the maps drawn had nine Republican districts and nine Democratic districts, he said, calling the 13-5 GOP margin under the current mapping an “extreme statistical outlier.” Republicans credit other factors for their successes, including the fact that Democratic voters tend to cluster in the state’s urban areas.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania-gerrymandering-congress-lawsuit-trial-harrisburg-20171211.html

Report: 13 Republican Congressmen from Pennsylvania exceeds 1,000 simulations

Penn Live By Charles Thompson cthompson@pennlive.com Updated 12:51 AM; Posted Dec 11, 7:55 PM

An expert in political geography ran 1,000 computer simulations of Pennsylvania's 18 Congressional districts based on what he called traditional redistricting principles. Dr. Jowei Chen never once came up with a map that, based on actual precinct-by-precinct election returns between 2008 and 2016, would have predicted Pennsylvania's present reality - 13 Republican-held seats. Even controlling for factors that would skew results toward Republican candidates - protecting the maximum number of incumbents when the state had to eliminate a House seat due to population shifts; and working to create a majority African-American district - makes no difference.

http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/expert_13_republican_congressm.html#incart_2box_politics

Lawsuit challenging Pa.’s congressional map begins state court

WHYY By Emily Previti, WITF December 11, 2017

Testimony in a fast-tracked lawsuit alleging gerrymandering got underway in Pa. Commonwealth Court Monday. The case could force a new state congressional map before the 2018 midterm election. Eighteen registered Democrats — one from each congressional district — claim Pennsylvania’s map was drawn unfairly by state GOP leaders to advantage Republicans. Congressional maps have to follow certain rules, such as distributing equal numbers of voters between districts. Advocates for fairer congressional maps say it’s also a best practice to avoid dividing counties and municipalities when drawing district boundary lines. The plaintiffs’ first witness, political scientist Jowei Chen, testified that this clearly wasn’t adhered to in Pennsylvania.

https://whyy.org/articles/lawsuit-challenging-pa-s-congressional-map-begins-state-court/

Will congressional districts ever be drawn fairly?

JULIAN ROUTH Pittsburgh Post-Gazette jrouth@post-gazette.com 5:00 PM DEC 11, 2017

Gerrymandering conjures up images of power brokers sitting around a table, drawing lines on an oversize map to divvy up the vote and keep their political party in office.  A quick look at the Pennsylvania’s district map — with districts that romp over county and municipal lines and twist and turn to pack or split groups of voters — suggests some politics was a work in the drawing. So it’s not surprising that there are three lawsuits challenging the map, as well as numerous reports that it reflects political maneuvering. What would it take to strip the politics out of the process? Judging from California’s experience, finding people so wonky and willing to put politics aside that they got picked from a pool of 30,000 applicants, survived a lengthy vetting process, wrote essays about redistricting, then won a lottery to become the drawers of districts.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2017/12/11/gerrymandering-congressional-districts-pennsylvania-lawsuits-other-states-nonpartison-commissions/stories/201712110134

Panel pans Pennsylvania's ESSA education roadmap as not strong enough in key areas

An independent panel's review of Pennsylvania's plan for complying with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act cites more weaknesses than strengths.
Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated 12:50 AM; Posted 12:01 AM
Pennsylvania's roadmap for where it wants to take K-12 education over the next 13 years is comprehensive but lacks enough rigor or detail in key areas, earning a lackluster review from an independent panel of school accountability experts. In a report released on Tuesday [see below], the group of bipartisan education policy experts convened by Bellwether Education Partners and Collaborative for Student Success , cited a couple of strengths in the state's plan to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) but they were outnumbered by the weaknesses that were noted. It gave the plan its highest marks in the areas of standards and assessments and in academic progress for its use of both student proficiency scores as well as year-over-year academic growth scores to measure students' preparedness for career success. But it was critical of the low performance goals, particularly for certain subgroups of students, "which is a troubling approach given the [13 years] it plans to allow for the attainment of those goals," the report states.

http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/panel_pans_pennsylvanias_educa.html#incart_river_index

“Wolf praised the General Assembly for passing the reauthorization bill and called on the U.S. Congress to follow suit. "I applaud the Pennsylvania General Assembly for voting to reauthorize Pennsylvania's CHIP program but in order to provide benefits to the more than 175,000 children enrolled, Congress must take action immediately," Wolf said in a statement.”

Senate votes to reauthorize CHIP without changes to transgender service coverage

Penn Live By Jan Murphy jmurphy@pennlive.com Updated Dec 11, 6:34 PM

The state Senate passed a bill to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program through 2019 despite opposition from social conservatives to its inclusion of coverage for gender reassignment surgery. The measure, approved on Monday by a 43-6 vote, now goes to Gov. Tom Wolf for enactment. CHIP provides health insurance to children in low- and moderate-income families whose income is too high to qualify for standard Medicaid programs. It is scheduled to sunset at year's end in Pennsylvania, which if not reauthorized would have left 175,000 children currently served by the program without coverage.

http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/senate_votes_to_reauthorize_ch.html#incart_river_index

It's official: East Penn approves full-day kindergarten

Carol Thompson Contact Reporter Of The Morning Call December 11, 2017

Full-day kindergarten will become the standard in East Penn School District, an about-face from a recent decision to maintain one of the few remaining half-day programs in the Lehigh Valley. School board directors on Monday voted 6-3 to eliminate the district’s half-day kindergarten program and replace it with a full-day one starting in the 2018 school year. Directors Alan Earnshaw, Ken Bacher, Ziad Munson, Paul Champagne, Adam Smith and Alisa Bowman supported the measure. Directors Carol Allen, Chuck Ballard and Chris Donatelli voted against. Monday night’s three dissenters, along with former directors Waldemar Vinovskis and Rebecca Heid, also voted against the district’s original full-day proposal in October, striking downadministrators’ first attempt to implement a full-day program. Their decision left East Penn one of only four districts in the Lehigh Valley not to offer full-day kindergarten to all students.

http://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-east-penn-full-day-kindergarten-20171211-story.html

Protecting Our Children: Controversy lingers at Capitol over arming teachers in schools

Sharon Herald By John FINNERTY CNHI Harrisburg Correspondent Dec 11, 2017

HARRISBURG – As schools grapple with the challenge of ensuring that their students are as safe as possible, the push to clarify whether schools can allow educators to carry firearms will likely carry over into 2018. The state Senate approved Senate Bill 383, a measure that would allow schools to give the OK for staff to carry firearms, in a 28-22 vote in June. The bill is currently under consideration by the House Education Committee. As the debate rages, one school district — Blue Mountain in Schuylkill County — has taken initial steps forward while another — Indiana Area School District — is considering allowing staff members to be armed. Joe Eaton, the program director for the FASTER program – Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response – run by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation in Ohio, said Pennsylvania is one of the dozen states from which educators have taken his classes.

http://www.sharonherald.com/news/state/protecting-our-children-controversy-lingers-at-capitol-over-arming-teachers/article_44d5d41a-a11b-5414-bd36-29dad912a9a9.html

SRC: Our opinion: It’s about time

The notebook Commentary December 11, 2017 — 12:02pm

In a fractious dispute with the School District of Philadelphia over funding, equity, and race, the state government assumed control of Philadelphia schools in 2001. At the time, it was the largest school district in the country to be subject to such a takeover. What also made it unusual was that while the District had trouble meeting its expenses and the threat of massive cutbacks and even bankruptcy loomed, there were no charges of mismanagement or scandal. Instead, an activist superintendent repeatedly charged that the Commonwealth wasn’t meeting its obligation to adequately fund Philadelphia schools to meet the needs of its mostly poor students of color. This, he said, was evidence of systemic racism. The governor and legislative leaders responded with the takeover. What was the result? The change ousted a locally appointed nine-member board that had no power to raise its own revenue and replaced it with a state-dominated five-member board that also didn’t have such power.

http://thenotebook.org/articles/2017/12/11/our-opinion-it-s-about-time

Q & A: Temple professor discusses book on education and grassroots organizing

The notebook by Greg Windle December 11, 2017 — 2:36pm

Temple University professor Barbara Ferman has edited the new book The Fight for America’s Schools: Grassroots Organizing in Education. She co-wrote the book’s final chapter, "Preserving Education as a Collective Good," with Temple law professor Susan Dejarnatt. The chapter deals with what Ferman calls “market-based reforms” and the belief that “choice promotes competition, which in turn weeds out poor performers.” But Ferman argues that these reforms have resulted in expanding charter school networks, turning this philosophy of choice into a rhetoric of illusion. Competition is actually producing less choice, she writes, and gradually resegregating schools.

http://thenotebook.org/articles/2017/12/11/q-a-temple-professor-barbara-ferman-discusses-new-book-on-public-education-and-grassroots-organizing

Want To Start School Later? Avoid These 10 Common Traps

Some these could save years of wasted time, effort and resources.

Huffington Post by Terra Ziporyn, PhD, Contributor Executive Director and Co-Founder, Start School Later, Inc.; medical writer and historian, novelist, playwright 12/10/2017 06:59 pm ET Updated 18 hours ago

It’s no secret that most middle and high schools start too early in the morning. Researchhas been clear on this for decades. Major health groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Medical Association have issued calls to start middle and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Schools following their advice find that more students get more sleep—and less substance use, depression, absenteeism, truancy and even car crashes. School leaders and community advocates all over the U.S. are trying to delay bell times, and many are succeeding. But too many others keep falling into common traps that waste time, energy and resources ― often for years.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/want-to-start-school-later-avoid-these-10-common-traps_us_5a2dc0a2e4b04e0bc8f3b61d

Gerrymandering: Fair Districts PA Statewide Calendar of Events

https://www.fairdistrictspa.com/events

Register for New School Director Training in December and January

PSBA Website October 2017

You’ve started a challenging and exciting new role as a school director. Let us help you narrow the learning curve! PSBA’s New School Director Training provides school directors with foundational knowledge about their role, responsibilities and ethical obligations. At this live workshop, participants will learn about key laws, policies, and processes that guide school board governance and leadership, and develop skills for becoming strong advocates in their community. Get the tools you need from experts during this visually engaging and interactive event.

Choose from any of these 11 locations and dates (note: all sessions are held 8 a.m.-4 p.m., unless specified otherwise.):

·         Dec. 8, Bedford CTC

·         Dec. 8, Montoursville Area High School

·         Dec. 9, Upper St. Clair High School

·         Dec. 9, West Side CTC

·         Dec. 15, Crawford County CTC

·         Dec. 15, Upper Merion MS (8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m)

·         Dec. 16, PSBA Mechanicsburg

·         Dec. 16, Seneca Highlands IU 9

·         Jan. 6, Haverford Middle School

·         Jan. 13, A W Beattie Career Center

·         Jan. 13, Parkland HS

Fees: Complimentary to All-Access members or $170 per person for standard membership. All registrations will be billed to the listed district, IU or CTC. To request billing to an individual, please contact Michelle Kunkel at michelle.kunkel@psba.org. Registration also includes a box lunch on site and printed resources.

Registration: https://www.psba.org/2017/10/new-school-director-training-2/

NSBA 2018 Advocacy Institute February 4 - 6, 2018 Marriott Marquis, Washington D.C.

Register Now

Come a day early and attend the Equity Symposium!

Join hundreds of public education advocates on Capitol Hill and help shape the decisions made in Washington D.C. that directly impact our students. At the 2018 Advocacy Institute, you’ll gain insight into the most critical issues affecting public education, sharpen your advocacy skills, and prepare for effective meetings with your representatives. Whether you are an expert advocator or a novice, attend and experience inspirational keynote speakers and education sessions featuring policymakers, legal experts and policy influencers. All designed to help you advocate for your students and communities.

https://www.nsba.org/events/advocacy-institute

Registration is now open for the 2018 PASA Education Congress! State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018
Don't miss this marquee event for Pennsylvania school leaders at the Nittany Lion Inn, State College, PA, March 19-20, 2018.
Learn more by visiting http://www.pasa-net.org/2018edcongress 

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.