Thursday, December 3, 2020

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 3, 2020: Pa. has spent a decade ignoring skyrocketing special ed. costs

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Keystone State Education Coalition

PA Ed Policy Roundup for Dec. 3, 2020

Pa. has spent a decade ignoring skyrocketing special ed. costs

 

 In Pennsylvania, State Funding for Students with Disabilities Flatlined

as Special Education Expenditures Grew by $2 Billion Over a Decade

 

A Decade of Shortchanging Children with Disabilities

Education Law Center Report December 2020

 For the past decade, expenditures for educating students with disabilities in Pennsylvania have been climbing steadily, mirroring a national trend. For example, school districts across the state boosted their expenditures for special education by $254 million in 2018-19, according to recently released state data on district spending. That was a 5% increase over the prior year. In 2018-19, the most recent year for which we have comprehensive data, those rising costs were almost entirely borne by local school districts. The state chipped in just a $15 million increase toward the $254 million cost. Local districts were thereby forced, on average, to come up with 92 cents for every dollar in new special education expenses, a challenging task for the hundreds of school systems that are already struggling financially. Thus, for yet another year, Pennsylvania retreated from its responsibility to educate students with disabilities — despite the fact that the state remains legally responsible under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for ensuring that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. The Education Law Center and the statewide PA Schools Work campaign have called out this disturbing pattern of unfairness in reports issued in 2018 and 2019. We now can see clearly that this is a steadily worsening, decade-long trend of state neglect of these critical needs.

https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dec_Special_Ed_Report_PASWEDU_Law_Center.pdf

 

Ten year changes in special education expenditures and revenues for all 500 Pennsylvania districts are provided in the following linked spreadsheet:

https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Official-Special-Ed-Funding-Spreadsheet-for-2020-Report.pdf

 

New report: Pa. has spent a decade ignoring skyrocketing special ed. costs | Thursday Morning Coffee

PA Capital Star By John L. Micek December 3, 2020

Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Even as many Pennsylvania school districts struggled to tame rising pension costs and deal with stagnant tax revenues, the state also saddled them with shouldering the rising cost of educating students living with disabilities — without giving them the financial assistance to handle it, 
a new report concludes. The state’s 501 school districts boosted their special education spending by $2 billion between 2009 to 2019, but state aid during that same period grew by just $110 million, the report by the Education Law Center and PA Schools Work, concludes, citing the most recent state data.  According to the report, out of new dollars spent on special education over the last decade, school districts have provided 92 cents of that total, the analysis found. Pennsylvania has been a bottom-dweller nationally for what a low share of overall public education spending the state provides – just 38 percent,” Education Law Center Executive Director Deborah Gordon Klehr said in a statement. “For special education, the portion covered by the state is now only 22 percent, down from 32 percent a decade ago. When the state abdicates responsibility like this, students are harmed, especially in our lowest-wealth school districts that have the greatest difficulty generating more revenue to meet student needs.”

https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/new-report-pa-has-spent-a-decade-ignoring-skyrocketing-special-ed-costs-thursday-morning-coffee/

 

School districts, like Philly, shouldn’t have to rely on handouts to make sure kids are safe

PA Capital Star Opinion By Mark Duffy and David Lapp Capital-Star Op-Ed Contributor December 3, 2020

Mark Duffy is a Senior Research Associate, and David Lapp is the Director of Policy Research, at Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based education research organization. 

The University of Pennsylvania announced recently that it will contribute $100 million over the next 10 years to the School District of Philadelphia, the largest private contribution in the district’s history. This is good news, because Philadelphia students are often deprived of even basic educational necessities. But these resources will not be used to improve academic programming. They will not be used to hire additional teachers or shrink class sizes. They won’t provide extracurricular offerings or technology.  The resources won’t even ensure schools have guidance counselors, librarians, or music and arts education—basic resources that many Philadelphia schools consider luxuries. Instead, the funding is earmarked for the most basic need of all: safe school facilities. Students should not have to depend on charitable handouts just to learn in a safe building. And while every dollar counts, these funds will be insufficient to achieve even this most basic promise. Estimates have put the cost of bringing Philadelphia school buildings up to code at around $4.5 billion. Yes, with a “B.” And this isn’t just a Philadelphia problem. A 2014 school facilities study of roughly 1,194 of the 3,100 public school buildings in the Commonwealth found that 66 percent of them were constructed before 1970, making it likely that they contain asbestos.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/school-districts-like-philly-shouldnt-have-to-rely-on-handouts-to-make-sure-kids-are-safe-opinion/

 

Schools with coronavirus cases could be forced to close on short notice under new Pa. rules

Inquirer by Maddie Hanna, Posted: December 2, 2020- 6:27 PM

As he explained why the Wissahickon School District — which is reopening for in-person instruction Monday — might have to close its buildings again amid the pandemic, Superintendent James Crisfield started by defining a word. Attestation, his PowerPoint slide read — a declaration that something is the case. “I wasn’t even sure it was a real word,” Crisfield said, as he began his presentation to community members. But it has real implications for the Montgomery County district, and others across Pennsylvania. Under new rules, public schools have to revert to virtual instruction once they record certain numbers of coronavirus cases. With the virus surging, Pennsylvania officials last week told preK-12 schools they could still teach students in person, but only if they pledged — by submitting an “attestation form” — to follow face-covering mandates and protocols for when COVID cases are identified in a school building. Private schools were not required to submit the form. For Crisfield’s district, the first part was straightforward, since masks were already required in schools. But the second was new — laying out specific numbers of cases that trigger closure of a school building, based on enrollment and levels of community transmission of the virus.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/school-closings-coronavirus-pennsylvania-montgomery-county-20201202.html

 

Back On The No-Longer-Trailing Pandemic Education Edge: Digging A Ditch

Curmuducation Blog by Peter Greene Wednesday, December 2, 2020

I've been offering updates from my own small town/rural corner of the universe for just one more data point about how various school districts are dealing with pandemic education. We don't all need to write about New York City schools. My region had a decent shot. In a county of 50,000 people, we had a total of 70 cases at the beginning of September. All schools opened for face-to-face instruction, with various precautions and protocols in place. Things have gone south pretty rapidly. We just passed 1,000 cases.  School districts had moved from face to face to hybrid elementary and distance high school. That lasted a few weeks, but there have been repeated multiple out breaks in schools. One district is still toggling between hybrid and distance--basically every time there's a confirmed case in the school, they go back to distance for a couple of weeks. Everyone else was in distance mode. Last night several local boards (there are four districts in the county) met to decide what to do with the rest of December. The discussions were spirited but nuanced. Because we are so rural, there are some major issues with getting a wifi signal to some folks; there are a few hot spots set up, but (and this seems to escape some folks) a hot spot is basically a relay station, and you can't relay a signal you can't get. So folks who want to use the hot spots have to drive to them. Not everyone has vehicle access, and winter's moving in.

https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2020/12/back-on-no-longer-trailing-pandemic.html

 

CDC Shortens COVID-19 Quarantine Periods. Here's What That Means for Schools

Education Week By Evie Blad on December 2, 2020 2:36 PM

Shorter COVID-19 quarantine periods, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends, could ease some of the burdens that have made in-person learning difficult for schools, but challenges remain. The new recommendations, announced Wednesday, would allow for close contacts of people diagnosed with the virus to resume normal activity after 10 days if they don't show symptoms, or as little as seven days if they test negative. The ideal quarantine period is still 14 days, but federal health officials hope that offering shorter options will encourage more people to cooperate by reducing the burden of being away from work and school for extended periods, they told reporters on a conference call. But whether or not to adopt the new recommendations is still a decision for local health authorities, CDC officials said, and potentially exposed people should still continue to monitor themselves for symptoms for the full 14-day period, even after they return to daily activities. The new recommendations come as case rates and hospitalizations reach new records around the country. Some schools have been forced to return to remote learning because they couldn't locate enough substitutes to cover teacher quarantines.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/12/cdc-shorter-quarantine-schools-teachers.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=campaignk-12

 

‘Mistakes were made’ at maskless election hearing held by COVID-positive lawmaker, Pa. Senate leader says

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA, Posted: December 2, 2020- 6:27 PM

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters.

HARRISBURG — The top Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate acknowledged Wednesday “mistakes were made” and necessary coronavirus safety precautions were ignored during a controversial public hearing in Gettysburg last week on unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Breaking his caucus’ silence on the matter, interim Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R., Centre) said organizers of the hearing before an all-GOP policy committee allowed large crowds to attend, and did not adhere to social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines. The lack of protocol became all the more concerning after Corman learned that the GOP senator who organized the meeting, Doug Mastriano of Franklin County, tested positive for COVID-19 later that day, during a trip to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump. “Clearly, mistakes were made,” said Corman, adding that his office is reviewing how the hearing was organized and executed. “And that is life — we all make mistakes and it’s now our job to review it.” Mastriano, one of the legislature’s most conservative members, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/spl/doug-mastriano-coronavirus-election-hearing-masks-jake-corman-review-20201202.html

 

As GOP state senators held public event, White House warned of COVID-19 ‘red zone’

The White House Coronavirus Task Force put Pennsylvania in the second-highest category of exploding case growth Nov. 22.

WITF by Brett Sholtis/Transforming Health UPDATED: DECEMBER 2, 2020 | 7:29 PM

(Harrisburg) — Three days before several GOP state senators held a gathering in a hotel conference room packed full of people, the White House Coronavirus Task Force warned Pennsylvania leaders that it hit another alarming milestone in COVID-19 spread—a warning accompanied with urgent recommendations: “Ensure masks at all times in public, increase physical distancing through significant reduction in capacity in public and private indoor spaces, and ensure every American understands the clear risks of ANY family or friend interactions outside of their immediate household indoors without masks.” It added: “Recent restrictions are warranted and commendable.” Test positivity rate is a key marker of how a state is handling the virus. By Nov. 22, the commonwealth reached a rate of 10.1%, according to the task force report, which the state Department of Health made public on its website. The increasing rate moved the state into the “red zone,” a category that signals uncontrolled spread of the virus.

https://www.witf.org/2020/12/02/as-gop-state-senators-held-public-event-white-house-warned-of-covid-19-red-zone/

 

99% of Pennsylvania school districts submit forms agreeing to follow updated coronavirus guidance or go virtual

Delco Times By David Mekeel dmekeel@readingeagle.com @dmekeel on Twitter December 3, 2020

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to rage across Pennsylvania, pushing recent daily case counts to record highs, the state Department of Education has asked school districts to promise in writing that they're following the latest health and safety guidance. As part of new mitigation efforts announced last week, districts in counties deemed to have a substantial risk of community spread of COVID-19 for two consecutive weeks — as of Monday that was 63 of the state's 67 counties — were required to sign attestation forms to continue in-person instruction. The forms had to be submitted to the department by 5 p.m. Monday. The form requires districts to confirm two things to remain open for in-person classes: that officials have read the governor's updated mask mandate and that they have read and agree to follow recommendations on what to do if a COVID-19 case occurs inside a school. Districts could also choose to simply indicate that they were planning not to hold in-person classes. Any district that did not submit a form is required to use only remote learning. Such districts must file a new form if they decide to hold any in-person classes. Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega said the attestation forms were a way to reassure the public that their local schools are taking the steps necessary to protect students and staff.

https://www.delcotimes.com/news/coronavirus/99-of-pennsylvania-school-districts-submit-forms-agreeing-to-follow-updated-coronavirus-guidance-or-go/article_9bfc0620-08f9-56b1-8396-5c2e8dc0a0ca.html

 

“Superintendent Dave Campbell criticized the legislature and cyber and charter schools for not following the same standards that school districts follow. If districts have too much in their fund balance, they cannot raise taxes, but cyber/charter schools can raise tuition, he said. For example, he said, PA Cyber had a 17-18 final expenditure of $144,082,865.37 and a fund balance of $90,738,078 equaling 62.98 percent of their total expenditures. Commonwealth Charter Academy had a 17-18 final expenditure of $142,030,085 and a fund balance of $11,795,163 equaling 8.3 percent of their total expenditures after reporting in June 2018 advertising expense of $7,930,988. Districts like Line Mountain are cutting programs and teachers due to the expenses from paying cyber/charter schools. It could reach $1 million by the end of the year, he said.”

Line Mountain School Board discusses 2021-2022 budget

Daily Item By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com December 3, 2020

MANDATA — Members of the Line Mountain School Board adopted a resolution Wednesday to not raise taxes above the index recommended by the state, which will allow them more time to put together a 2021-2022 budget. At Wednesday night’s meeting via Zoom, business manager Kaitlin Rosselli explained that the Act 1 index is 4.2 percent, which means the district can only raise property taxes by 3.35 mills for the 2021-22 budget. The adopted resolution doesn’t mean the district will raise taxes, just that they won’t raise taxes above the index. "Line Mountain is fiscally conservative," said Rosselli. "I'm confident we wouldn't have to raise it more than that anyhow."The district's millage rate is 79.81 mills. Raising taxes to the maximum level would bring taxes to 83.16 mills. One mill is worth approximately $76,500 an additional 3.35 mills would bring in an additional $256,275 in revenue, Rosselli said. Signing the resolution means the district has more time — until May — to prepare the budget and "gives taxpayers confidence that they will not be gouged in taxes," said Rosselli. "It's an unprecedented world and things change day by day."

https://www.dailyitem.com/news/local_news/line-mountain-school-board-discusses-2021-2022-budget/article_8d288ff9-e496-5e08-a27d-6897cd5a89a5.html

 

Line Mtn. super: Cyber schools have an unbelievable power in Harrisburg

Gettysburg Times BY TIM ZYLA THE NEWS-ITEM tim_z@newsitem.com December 2, 2020

MANDATA — Line Mountain Superintendent Dave Campbell used Wednesday night's board meeting to express displeasure for a perceived special treatment cyber schools receive from state lawmakers compared to public schools. "People can pontificate all they want. If you do not believe cybers have an unbelievable power in Harrisburg and at the federal level, I have the Sunbury Veterans Bridge to sell you," he said. Campbell questioned why state lawmakers have allowed cyber schooling operations to continue raising tuition while, in some cases, holding tens of millions of dollars in fund balances. "Pa. Cyber had a 2017-18 final expenditure of $144,082,865.37 and a fund balance of $90,738,078, equaling 62.98% of their total expenditures," Campbell said. "My question to senators and representatives is, if we must follow Act 1 with our fund balance, (why is) Pa. Cyber allowed to raise tuition every year, which comes directly from taxpayers?" Public schools are required to pay for tuition of students in the district that choose to attend cyber schools. Line Mountain, like many other public school districts, offers its own cyber schooling program, which costs district taxpayers about $4,200 per pupil, while outside cyber schools are charging the district $12,609.98 per pupil.

https://www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/pennsylvania_news/article_04f904e5-038f-57d6-a353-507c1e075a8f.html

 

“According to the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials enrollment in cyber charter schools is up by approximately 24,000 students at an estimated cost of $350 million. This is on top of the automatic charter and cyber-charter increases occurring annually for students. All of these funds will be extracted from local school districts that are hard pressed to deal with the growing costs of educating children in the middle of a world health crisis.”

OP-ED: No more pencils, no more books ... no more schools

York Dispatch by Richard Robinson York Suburban school board December 2, 2020

The $350 million time bomb is a figure of speech to describe future school funding in Pennsylvania. No cause for alarm. Right now it’s time to finish all the leftovers from Thanksgiving and start thinking about a “Very COVID Christmas” with holiday-themed face masks and hand sanitizer gift sets. Why not? With each passing day another drug company announces successful clinical trials for a new vaccine that will conquer COVID-19 and end the worldwide pandemic by spring time. Oh yeah? The losses and damage done by COVID-19 will not simply vanish with a vaccination. Months and years from now there are going to be long-lasting consequences and influences on the way we live and work. This is where the time bomb comes in. When school districts across Pennsylvania were forced to close in mid-March they had to act fast. Teachers, students and administrators had to adapt all in-person instruction to a remote format for every student, in a matter of weeks. They did. It ought to come as no surprise that opportunists in charge of private charter and cyber-charter schools acted fast, too. They saw COVID-19 as a miraculous opportunity. Misleading television ads began touting the value of tuition-free, private cyber academies, and showed children smiling at computer screens where a smiling adult at a chalk board illustrated geometric theorems or asked who was the nation’s most prolific president (answer: John Tyler. He fathered 15 children).  Cyber-charter schools were able to play on the fears of concerned parents without even having to mention germs or infections. It worked.

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/opinion/contributors/2020/12/02/op-ed-no-more-pencils-no-more-books-no-more-schools/3794321001/

 

How a Lancaster soccer club won a $1.2 million grant from DeVos’s Education Department to open a charter school

Washington Post By Valerie Strauss Reporter Dec. 3, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EST

Here’s a new, rather remarkable story about charter school grants recently awarded by the Education Department — including one for more than $1 million that went to a soccer club in Pennsylvania that had no experience running a school. This is one of a number of pieces I have run in recent years about the Federal Charter School Program, which has invested close to $4 billion in these schools since it began giving grants in 1995. Charter schools, a key feature of the “school choice” movement, are financed by the public but privately operated. About 6 percent of U.S. schoolchildren attend charter schools, with California having the most charter schools and the most charter students. Charters had bipartisan support for years, but a growing number of Democrats have pulled back from the movement, citing the fiscal impact on school districts and repeated scandals in the sector.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/12/03/how-soccer-club-won-126-million-grant-devoss-education-department-open-charter-school/

 

Norwin covid-19 cases top 100; 21 new cases reported

Trib Live by JOE NAPSHA   | Wednesday, December 2, 2020 9:49 p.m.

Norwin School District officials said Wednesday the district has 21 new covid-19 cases among its students and staff, pushing the total number of cases since school began Aug. 31 to more than 100. The reports of 21 new cases, pushing the total to 114 cases of the coronavirus, is the highest number of cases the district announced in one day since school began. The spike in cases comes just two days before Superintendent Jeff Taylor previously said he might notify the state Department of Education that Norwin would move from all-remote instruction for its 5,300 students this week to the previous hybrid model of instruction.

https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/norwin-covid-19-cases-top-100-21-new-cases-reported/

 

Danville School Board: Students to learn virtually until Jan. 15

Daily Item By Rick Dandes rdandes@thedanvillenews.com December 3, 2020

DANVILLE — Danville School District students will continue to learn remotely until Jan. 15, 2021. That decision, approved by the school board at Wednesday night's meeting, did not come without serious discussion, said several board members before voting on it. New school board President Chris Huron, who was only installed as president earlier in the evening during a reorganization meeting, said that kids learn optimally with in-person learning, but given the number of COVID cases exploding almost everywhere, the safety of students had to be paramount. Another factor in going all virtual, he said, was staffing. "How can you have kids taught in person if we are down in staff?"

https://www.dailyitem.com/the_danville_news/news/danville-school-board-students-to-learn-virtually-until-jan-15/article_0172606b-958a-576e-b27c-728a1b66cc09.html

 

Big Beaver Falls Area moves to remote learning

Big Beaver Falls Area School District on Wednesday moved from a hybrid model to remote instruction. All schools will remain virtual through Jan. 8 due to an increasing number of employees testing positive for COVID-19.

Chrissy Suttles Beaver County Times December 2, 2020

BEAVER FALLS — All Beaver County school districts have now transitioned to remote learning amid a surge in regional COVID-19 cases.  Big Beaver Falls Area School District students and staff on Wednesday moved from a hybrid model to virtual instruction — the final district in the county to do so.  All district schools will remain virtual through Jan. 8 due to an increasing number of staff members testing positive for the virus, or quarantining, in recent weeks. Several district employees tested positive ahead of Thanksgiving. 

https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/12/02/beaver-falls-area-moves-remote-learning/3795751001/

 

Dallas Middle School learning goes online Thursday as 'increased number' of teachers quarantine

Citizens Voice BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER Dec 2, 2020 Updated 8 hrs ago

Dallas School District suspended in-person learning at the middle school Thursday, and “an increased number” of middle school teachers have been ordered to quarantine, according to an announcement posted on the district website Wednesday night. The state Department of Health ordered the teachers to quarantine. All middle school students will learn on the online streaming platform on Thursday. “The district has enacted protocols to identify close contacts, informed close contacts of proper next steps and communicated with the Department of Health,” Superintendent Thomas Duffy said in Wednesday’s announcement. “The communication with the Department of Health is ongoing.”

https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/coronavirus/dallas-middle-school-learning-goes-online-thursday-as-increased-number-of-teachers-quarantine/article_f35b8afc-bfca-514e-a4e8-74488781e8a0.html#utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

 

Tyler Titus, 1st openly transgender person elected to public office in Pa., is new Erie School Board chief

Ed Palattella Erie Times-News December 2, 2020

Tyler Titus has again made history. He was elected president of the Erie School Board on Wednesday night, becoming the first openly transgender person to hold the post. When he was elected to the Erie School Board in 2017, Titus became the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Pennsylvania. He was elected head of the School Board at its annual reorganization meeting. Fellow School Director Darlene Feeney, also elected to the board in 2017, was elected vice president. Both votes were unanimous. 

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/education/2020/12/02/tyler-titus-1st-openly-transgender-person-elected-pa-advances/3803219001/

 

A radiant, bountiful meteor shower, a 'double' planet and a full moon [December's astronomical calendar]

Lancaster Online by MICKAYLA MILLER | Website Producer December 3, 2020

Bundle up and get outside: December will be a full month of astronomical events from radiant meteor showers to a bright full moon.  December's first big astronomical event will be the Geminids meteor shower, which is known as the biggest meteor shower of the year. The Geminids will be at its peak from Dec. 13 to 14, and will produce as many as 120 meteors per hour. A total solar eclipse will happen on Dec. 14, though it won't be visible in the United States. The eclipse will pass through the southern end of South America and will stop near the western central edge of Africa. Next will be the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21, which marks the first day of winter. The northern hemisphere will be tilted away from the sun, which will lead to the longest night of the year. The same night, there will be a rare "conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn. Briefly, the two planets will cross paths, making them look like one large, bright double planet. Also that night, and into Dec. 22, the Ursids meteor shower will be visible and could produce 5 to 10 meteors an hour. The Ursids is a much smaller meteor shower than the Geminids.  Closing out the month will be the full cold moon on Dec. 30. Native American groups called that moon the full cold moon to honor the long winter nights.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/a-radiant-bountiful-meteor-shower-a-double-planet-and-a-full-moon-decembers-astronomical-calendar/article_edd2b06a-34bc-11eb-8edf-e33380109614.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

 

332 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.

The school boards from the following districts have adopted resolutions calling for charter funding reform. 

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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