Thursday, June 20, 2019

PA Ed Policy Roundup June 20: Pa.’s charter school package doesn’t count as real reform | Opinion


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 emails, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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“This commission would also examine how to implement the state Special Education Funding Commission’s recommendations in the state’s charter schools. That commission recommended a tiered payment system based on the severity of a student’s disability, which was adopted regarding state aid to districts. However, charter schools continue to get one payment regardless of the severity of a student’s disability – a system that has been criticized as a windfall for some charters because the payments are high while most special education students in charter schools have milder, less expensive disabilities.”
State Senate Appropriations Committee approves establishment of charter school funding commission
Among the commission's tasks would be examining the financial oversight of schools and management companies.
The notebook by Greg Windle June 19 — 11:37 am, 2019
Updated (4:14 pm) to include a quote from School Board President Joyce Wilkerson.
The General Assembly would establish a commission to review the state’s method for funding charter schools and suggest changes under a bill that was unanimously approved Tuesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Charter School Funding Advisory Commission would compare Pennsylvania’s funding mechanism to those in other states and base its recommendations on the actual cost of educating students in charters of all kinds. The commission’s scope extends more broadly, as well, encompassing the financial oversight by districts and the state of charter schools, management companies, and facilities. Based on the Special Education Commission and the PlanCon Advisory Committee, it will hold public hearings to consider making further recommendations. “Our current charter funding systems create many inequities,” School Board President Joyce Wilkerson said in a statement. “We support action by the General Assembly to help resolve these inequities, including the proposed Charter School Funding Commission.” The commission would issue a report after 18 months if Senate Bill 806 passes. Short of going up for a full vote in both houses of the legislature, the bill could be incorporated into an “omnibus” school code during budget negotiations next week, according to a source in the State Senate. The bill was introduced by Republican State Sen. Pat Browne of Allentown.

Blogger note: Total cyber charter tuition paid by PA taxpayers from 500 school districts for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 was over $1.6 billion; $393.5 million, $398.8 million, $436.1 million and $454.7 million respectively.
In 2016-17, taxpayers in Senate President Pro Tempore @SenatorScarnati’s school districts in Bradford, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter and Tioga Counties had to send over $10.7 million to chronically underperforming cybers that they never authorized. #SB34 (Schwank) or #HB526 (Sonney) could change that. 
Data source: PDE via .@PSBA

Austin Area SD
$2,875.00
Bradford Area SD
$416,092.34
Brockway Area SD
$149,942.34
Brookville Area SD
$248,130.96
Cameron County SD
$467,303.38
Canton Area SD
$219,358.83
Clarion-Limestone Area SD
$274,246.66
Clearfield Area SD
$847,317.65
Coudersport Area SD
$261,597.67
Dubois Area SD
$781,498.59
Forest Area SD
$326,168.02
Galeton Area SD
$367,370.95
Jersey Shore Area SD
$729,876.96
Johnsonburg Area SD
$259,139.74
Kane Area SD
$146,979.43
Keystone Central SD
$1,077,260.40
Northern Potter SD
$67,549.21
Northern Tioga SD
$423,039.27
Oswayo Valley SD
$75,472.38
Otto-Eldred SD
$170,310.95
Port Allegany SD
$140,633.48
Punxsutawney Area SD
$1,066,764.18
Ridgway Area SD
$223,709.93
Smethport Area SD
$337,873.37
Southern Tioga SD
$650,426.40
Saint Marys Area SD
$256,147.70
Wellsboro Area SD
$472,963.79
West Branch Area SD
$323,061.45
             Total:
$10,783,111.03


Has your state senator cosponsored bipartisan SB34?

Is your state representative one of the over 70 bipartisan cosponsors of HB526?

Who decides whether charter schools open in Pa.? Not just your local school district.
Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Updated: June 19, 2019- 6:25 PM
The charter school proposed for West Philadelphia had failed to submit a fully developed curriculum. Its management company hadn’t demonstrated that the schools it runs should be replicated, according to the school district. Thus the school board last week for a second time denied a charter for the dance-themed Joan Myers Brown Academy. Although it chose not to, String Theory, the charter’s operator, could have appealed. In Pennsylvania, school districts don’t have the final say over the fates of the charter schools that they are tasked with regulating. That belongs instead to the Pennsylvania Charter Appeals Board — one of only two such boards in the nation, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Created shortly after Pennsylvania passed its charter-school law in 1997, the appeals board has long been controversial for its ability to overturn decisions of the local school boards that regulate charter schools. In addition to the secretary of education, Pennsylvania’s board is supposed to have six members appointed by the governor. But it currently only has five. And all are serving under expired terms — some since 2015. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat now in his fifth year, hasn’t nominated anyone to the board. Every member was appointed by his Republican predecessor, Gov. Tom Corbett, whose administration was more supportive of charter schools.
Here’s a primer on the board and why it matters:

What is the Charter School Appeal Board?
The Charter School Appeal Board (CAB) consists of the Secretary of Education and six members who are appointed by the Governor and with the consent of a majority of all the Senate members.  The members include a parent of a school-aged child, a school board member, a certified teacher actively employed in a public school, a faculty member or administrative employee of a higher education institution, a member of the business community, and a member of the State Board of Education. PDE provides assistance and staffing and the Governor’s General Counsel provides legal advice and assistance to CAB.  CAB has the exclusive review of a decision by a local school board to deny a charter application and of a decision by a local school board to not renew or revoke a charter.  CAB also has the exclusive review of a decision by PDE to deny a cyber charter application and of a decision by PDE to not renew or revoke a cyber charter.  In addition, CAB has exclusive review of a direct appeal filed by a charter applicant when the local school board fails to hold a public hearing or timely act on a charter application and of a direct appeal filed by a cyber charter applicant when PDE fails to hold a public hearing or timely act on a cyber charter application. The following documents contain additional information about CAB.

Charter Appeal Board Members
Pennsylvania Department of Education Website
Pedro A. Rivera, Secretary of Education, and Chair, State Charter Appeal Board, as of January 21, 2015. 
 
​Name                                                                            ​Appointed          ​Expires
​Higher Education Member - Vacant                   
​Cook, Julie A., A certified teacher in a public school*        ​10/14/2014        ​6/14/2018
​Miller, Scott E., Business Member*                                 ​4/7/2014            ​6/14/2015
​Munger, Lee Ann, Parent of a school-aged child*             ​6/20/2011          ​6/14/2017
​Peri, Jonathan E., State Board of Education Member*     ​6/3/2014            ​6/14/2017
​Yanyanin, Mitchell J., School Board Member*                  ​6/20/2011          ​6/14/2015
Sara Hockenberry, Counsel                   
​*  Appointed by Governor Corbett

Pursuant to section 1721-A of the Charter School Law, the term of office of members of the appeal board, other than the Secretary, shall be for a period of four years or until a successor is appointed and qualified. 24 P.S. § 17-1721-A.
Please direct all media inquiries to the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Press and Communications Office: elevis@pa.gov or 717- 783-9802.

“Of all the bad news in this report, none is more alarming than the fact that students in cyber charter schools fare far worse than any other students in the state. Compared to students in traditional public schools, on average, cyber charter students perform as if they’ve had 106 fewer days of reading in school and 118 fewer days in math class. Keep in mind, there are only 180 days in a school year.”
Pa.’s charter school package doesn’t count as real reform | Opinion
Bernie O’Neill, for the Inquirer Updated: June 19, 2019 - 1:01 PM
Bernie O’Neill is the former Republican State Representative for Bucks County.
If you weren’t worried about the rising cost of public education before now — you should be. If Pennsylvania passes the charter bills currently in the State Senate, expect more of the same: higher school taxes and disappointing news on school performance. Last week, the PA House passed a set of bills proffered to “fix” Pennsylvania’s charter school law. Yet the bills fail to address necessary charter school funding reform, and two of the bills (HB 356 and 357) specifically allow charters to expand without adequate oversight. In fact, a proposed amendment to the package that would have required a rigorous charter accountability system failed by a vote of 100-99. Harrisburg — what are you thinking? Just last week, Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) released a study on charter school performance in Pennsylvania that should be sounding alarms in the minds of legislators across the state. Despite decades of investments, Pennsylvania’s charter school students aren’t showing the results promised or hoped for. Student reading performance is similar for charters and traditional public schools, and in math, charter school students are doing worse than their public-school peers. To be sure, the report finds that black, Hispanic, and students in poverty attending brick and mortar charters have made some gains in reading compared to peers in traditional public schools. Those gains are modest — 35 additional days of learning in reading. My guess is they were also made at the expense of students in public schools because school districts must pay for every new seat in a charter school, leaving them less money to spend on traditional public classrooms.

“…the EITC/OSTC programs divert tax dollars into private organizations that have no public budgets, no public check registers, no public meetings, no Sunshine laws, and no right-to-know laws. As a result, there is virtually no public scrutiny or accountability for how this money is spent.”
Pa’s public schools need our help. Gov. Tom Wolf was right to veto private school tax credit bill | Opinion
By Susan Spicka  Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor June 20, 2019
Susan Spicka is the executive director of the advocacy group Education Voters of Pennsylvania. She writes from Shippensburg, Pa. 
It’s budget season in Harrisburg. At a time of year when we should be talking about funding to meet public schools’ needs, instead we’ve been hearing more about massive giveaways of taxpayer dollars to well-off families who send their children to private schools. The Pennsylvania House and Senate passed legislation sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, allowing for a massive expansion, from $110 million to $210 million, of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit. The two-decade-old program provides tax credits to businesses and other organizations that fund scholarship aid for religious and private schools. A built-in,10 percent annual increase in EITC funding in Turzai’s bill would have brought the total annual funding for the EITC program to an eye-popping $544 million in just 10 years. Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the legislation, and he was correct to do this. The EITC program, and its partner, the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) program, are intentionally designed to provide taxpayer-funded private/religious school tuition vouchers to well-off families that are already comfortably paying their children’s private school tuition.

“The more complicated part is a built-in 10% increase every year.
Again, for context, every school district faces endless discussion about whether taxes will go up or should go up and why. The public sweats bullets over the difference between a 1% increase and a 2%, and that makes sense. That’s real money coming out of real bank accounts. On a fixed income, that percentage can be the difference between paying your taxes or a sheriff’s sale. So why should money that would flow to private or parochial schools not face the same annual scrutiny? Spending decisions are supposed to be done annually to keep control. Would anyone greenlight an automatic 10% increase in school taxes each year? Probably not.”
Editorial: School tax credits are taxes too
TRIBUNE-REVIEW Editorial  | Wednesday, June 19, 2019 4:01 p.m.
What are you OK paying more for every year? Automatically. Without question. What would you sign up for today knowing that it could — and would — escalate annually every Jan. 1?
Is there anything? Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill to that effect. The topic of the bill is worth debate and there is legitimate support on both sides. It was the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, and that’s something to talk about. We need to discuss education. We need to explore options. Are public schools doing the best they can? Are private schools up to snuff? Are parochial schools meeting the same requirements when it comes to testing, and should they? What about cyber programs? And who should pay for it all? Should poor kids be shut out of the diversity of opportunities that are open to rich families? Those are all important questions that need to not just be asked, but answered honestly. So it isn’t surprising that there were people who very much supported a large increase in the tax credit. The bill would have bumped funding for private school scholarships from $100 million up to $210 million.

Success of rural schools important
Indiana Gazette Opinion by Edward J. Albert, Ed.D, Executive director Pa. Association of Rural and Small Schools Jun 18, 2019
Recently, an editorial by superintendents from several large, urban school districts ran in Pennsylvania’s city newspapers. It highlighted the important role city schools play in preparing students for the 21st century economy and the real and urgent needs their students face. It called on state leaders to fix Pennsylvania’s broken state funding system and invest more in our public schools. Those urban school leaders are right. Pennsylvania’s success will be determined by how well we educate our children, and our children need more. But that extends beyond our cities to our small towns and rural regions. The state’s failure to pay its fair share for public education is hurting rural students. Rural schools struggle to find enough resources to keep buildings safe and in good repair, protect academic and extracurricular programs from elimination, and give students up-to-date books and technology. Rural schools strive to give students with disabilities or special needs what they deserve to reach their potential and make sure students have career and technical opportunities that prepare them for today’s workforce and a successful future. Many rural districts must meet the needs of children living in poverty but have a limited tax base to generate enough revenues locally. There is a budget proposal on the table to increase state funding for basic, special and career and technical education by $260 million next school year. Pennsylvania’s school children need every penny. All our state legislators should immediately commit to provide at least that much in this year’s budget.

Wolf vetoes school choice expansion
Daily Item By John Finnerty jfinnerty@cnhi.com June 18, 2019
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf issued his first veto of the year Tuesday, spiking a bill that would have greatly expanded a tax credit program that benefits scholarship programs used to cover private school tuition. House Bill 800, authored by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, would have doubled the amount of tax credits available for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit while also raising the income limits for families to be eligible for scholarships covered by the program. Under the plan, the state would have offered up to $210 million in tax credits and allowed families earning $95,000 to benefit from the scholarships funded by those donations. The measure passed the state Senate last week, after passing in the state House last month. The legislation didn’t pass with enough support in either chamber to suggest there are enough votes to override Wolf’s veto. In his veto message, Wolf said the tax credits for private schools lacks accountability and oversight.

“The Erie School Board held a hearing on Wednesday night on whether to renew the charter for the Erie Rise Leadership Academy Charter School, 1006 W. 10th St., at Cascade Street. The board must wait at least 30 days to vote on the renewal.”
Erie Rise, school district clash over charter’s future
GoErie By Ed Palattella  Posted Jun 19, 2019 at 9:42 PM Updated at 5:34 AM
At Erie School Board hearing, school district administration contends standardized test scores, other data show Erie Rise is failing. Charter school argues otherwise.
The Erie Rise Leadership Academy Charter School, at risk of losing its charter, defended itself before the Erie School Board late into Wednesday night by arguing that the Erie School District lacked evidence and direct observation to stop the school from operating. The Erie School District argued that it has plenty of evidence on its side. The charter school’s solicitor, Thomas Fitzpatrick, focused, in part, on state data that shows 100 percent of Erie Rise’s students are economically disadvantaged. He also questioned whether the Erie School District was placing unfair expectations on Erie Rise, which in its charter application said its students would score no lower than 89 percent on standardized test scores in math and reading. Erie Rise has fallen well short of those numbers since the school was founded in 2011, according to state data. “Those goals are aspirational,” Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick commented after a lawyer for the Erie School Board, Tim Sennett, spent two and half hours presenting the Erie School District administration’s case for why the board should not renew Erie Rise’s charter for another five years. Sennett’s only witness was Neal Brokman, the Erie School District’s executive director of operations.
Based on the evidence, including poor test scores, Sennett asked Brokman whether “students that are enrolled at Erie Rise would be better off if they returned to their Erie School District home schools.”

School improvement plans outlined for Reading School Board
WFMZ By:  Gregory Purcell  Posted: Jun 19, 2019 11:31 PM EDT
READING, Pa. - Leaders from Reading High School, Reading Intermediate High School and Southern Junior High School presented highlights from their school improvement plans for 2019-2020 to the Reading School Board at its Committee of the Whole Meeting on Wednesday. Reading High School Principal Eric Turman outlined three challenges and three solutions that his school will address. He said they want to foster a culture of high expectations of success for all students, educators, families, and community members. In order to do so, the school will develop vision and value statements for all stakeholders; in addition, the school will create plans to support each stakeholder to achieve this vision. He said they want to promote and sustain a positive school environment where all members feel welcomed, supported and safe in school: socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically. He said to do so, Reading High will create a culture of collaboration and respect for the various voices within stakeholder groups. He said they want to build leadership capacity and empower staff in the development and successful implementation of initiatives that better serve students, staff and the school. To do this, he said the school will restructure the decision-making process to gain input from stakeholders and create open opportunities for staff to serve in leadership positions.

“Bell toured Cassidy Elementary in West Philadelphia, considered one of the most toxic public schools in the city due to elevated lead and asbestos levels. The School District of Philadelphia is building a $30 million facility to replace the school.”
CNN docuseries shines light on lead poisoning, pollution in Philly and Chester
'United Shades of America' tours Covanta incinerator, Cassidy Elementary School
Television host W. Kamau Bell visited Philadelphia and neighboring Chester, Delaware County to examine the adverse affects of waste pollution and lead poisoning.
BY JOHN KOPP  PhillyVoice Staff UPDATED JUN 17, 2019 AT 01:23 PM
Television host W. Kamau Bell received a foul introduction to Chester on the most recent episode of CNN docuseries "United Shades of America." Riding alongside Zulene Mayfield, an environmental rights advocate, Bell caught a strong whiff of the Covanta incineration plant, the largest in the United States. "It's nauseating," Mayfield said. "You will feel it in your throat, in your eyes, every membrane that you have. Welcome to Chester." The episode, dubbed "Toxic America," aired Sunday night and examined the effects of industrial waste pollution in Chester, Delaware County, and lead poisoning in neighboring Philadelphia. Bell pointed to various adverse health effects caused by air pollution – including cancer, respiratory issues and hormonal defects – and lead poisoning, including cognitive delays, behavioral issues and seizures. "The fact is, kids, whether you live in rural, urban or suburban America, man-made disasters are becoming more common," Bell said. "And while many of these issues, of course, affect people of all races, it's not surprising that in America, native people, black people, Latino people and other people of color – we tend to get it the worst."

Secret Service teaches safe school initiatives at Neumann
ASTON — Hundreds of educators and emergency personnel from around the region were schooled by the U.S. Secret Service Wednesday on some of the best practices to promote safe schools in their communities. Neumann University hosted the federal law enforcement agency’s first East Coast presentation of its Safe School Initiative training program in the all-day seminar that covered prevention, school climate and cybersecurity. The Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center, National Computer Forensics Institute and Forensics Services Division contributed to the day’s presentations. “We’re providing the information from the Safe Schools Initiative study. Certainly, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting (from February 2018), we’ve been doubling our efforts in the study of violence in schools,” said Philadelphia Secret Service Special Agent in Charge James Henry. “It’s us being able to give our best practices and recommendations along the way to best prevent these crimes.”


House Approves Record-High Spending Figure for the Education Department
Education Week Politics K12 Blog By Andrew Ujifusa on June 19, 2019 4:08 PM
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve what would be a record-high funding level for the U.S. Department of Education in nominal terms, although there's a long slog ahead before Congress sends a final spending bill to President Donald Trump for his signature.  Title I, special education, and social-emotional learning would be big winners under the bill crafted by Democrats, who control the House. And in keeping with much of the mood in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, charter school funding would get slashed by nearly 10 percent. Lawmakers also passed spending bills for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and other federal agencies as part of a broader spending package.  Overall, the legislation would provide roughly $75.9 billion to the U.S. Department of Education for fiscal 2020, which will start Oct. 1. That would be a record high fiigure for department funding, although not after adjusting for inflation, and $4.4 billion above current levels. More specifically, it would provide $42.2 billion for K-12, an increase of $3.4 billion over current fiscal 2019 levels. By contrast, President Donald Trump's budget request sought to slash total department funding to $64 billion, and would cut K-12 spending from $38.8 billion to $34.1 billion. 

2020 cheat sheet: What the Democratic presidential candidates have said about education
Chalkbeat BY CAMILLE RESPESS  -  JUNE 13, 2019  -  UPDATED JUNE 14, 2019
Education is hardly the only issue driving the 2020 presidential campaign. But policies affecting schools and students are emerging as some of the most talked-about. Within the crowded field of Democrats seeking to unseat Donald Trump, some candidates are reckoning with long-standing stances on education issues — including Cory Booker, who has downplayed his past support for charter schools on the campaign trail. Others, such as Kamala Harris, are formulating wide-ranging education policy plans for the first time. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, has distinguished himself by taking an aggressive stand against charter schools.
We’ve collected what we know about each Democratic candidate’s views on education issues here and filled it with links where you can learn more. We’ll continuously update this page as candidates share more.


The deadline to submit a cover letter, resume and application is August 19, 2019.
Become a 2019-2020 PSBA Advocacy Ambassador
PSBA is seeking applications for two open Advocacy Ambassador positions. Candidates should have experience in day-to-day functions of a school district, on the school board, or in a school leadership position. The purpose of the PSBA Advocacy Ambassador program is to facilitate the education and engagement of local school directors and public education stakeholders through the advocacy leadership of the ambassadors. Each Advocacy Ambassador will be responsible for assisting PSBA in achieving its advocacy goals. To achieve their mission, ambassadors will be kept up to date on current legislation and PSBA positions on legislation. The current open positions will cover PSBA Sections 3 and 4, and Section 7.
PSBA Advocacy Ambassadors are independent contractors representing PSBA and serve as liaisons between PSBA and their local elected officials. Advocacy Ambassadors also commit to building strong relationships with PSBA members with the purpose of engaging the designated members to be active and committed grassroots advocates for PSBA’s legislative priorities. 

PSBA: Nominations for The Allwein Society are open!
This award program recognizes school directors who are outstanding leaders & advocates on behalf of public schools & students. Nominations are accepted year-round with selections announced early fall: http://ow.ly/CchG50uDoxq 

EPLC is accepting applications for the 2019-20 PA Education Policy Fellowship Program
Education Policy & Leadership Center
PA's premier education policy leadership program for education, policy & community leaders with 582 alumni since 1999. Application with program schedule & agenda are at http://www.eplc.org 

2019 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference Oct. 16-18, 2019
WHERE: Hershey Lodge and Convention Center 325 University Drive, Hershey, PA
WHEN: Wednesday, October 16 to Friday, October 18, 201
Registration is now open!
Growth from knowledge acquired. Vision inspired by innovation. Impact created by a synergized leadership community. You are called upon to be the drivers of a thriving public education system. It’s a complex and challenging role. Expand your skillset and give yourself the tools needed for the challenge. Packed into two and a half daysꟷꟷgain access to top-notch education and insights, dynamic speakers, peer learning opportunities and the latest product and service innovations. Come to the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference to grow!

NPE Action National Conference - Save the Date - March 28-29, 2020 in Philadelphia, PA.
The window is now open for workshop proposals for the Network for Public Education conference, March 28-29, 2020, in Philadelphia. I hope you all sign on to present on a panel and certainly we want all to attend. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NBCNDKK

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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