The PA State Supreme Court heard arguments in the school funding lawsuit this week. Children in some districts have lavish swimming pools, while others graduate from schools without ever having used a computer or seen a library, said attorney Brad Elias, representing several school districts, parents and civil rights groups. Legislatures and governors through the […]
Archive | Education
PA Auditor General Says PDE Charter School Payment Appeal Process Seriously Flawed
On August 25, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said his latest audit shows that a faulty Charter School Law and the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) protracted, inconsistent, confusing, and conflicting process for handling charter school payment challenges may unfairly favor charter schools over school districts. Under the Charter School Law, charter schools receive funding from […]
Celebrate Women’s Equality Day August 26
August 26th is the anniversary of national woman suffrage. Across the seventy-two years between the first major women’s rights conference at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, thousands of people participated in marches through cities like New York and Washington DC, wrote editorials and pamphlets, gave speeches all […]
PDE Recommends Options to Replace Keystone Exams as Graduation Requirements
Per provisions of Act 1 of 2016 (SB 880), the PA Department of Education released its report regarding high school graduation requirements. PDE recommends four options to replace the mandate for students to pass Keystone Exams: Option 1: Achieve an identified composite score, based on the combined performance across all three Keystone exams Option 2: […]
PA Department of Education Releases Implementation Guidelines for Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
On April 12 Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera provided testimony to both House and Senate Education Committees on the implementation of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in PA (highlights of Secretary Rivera’s ESSATestimony) The April hearing was the second joint Education Committee hearing concerning ESSA. The first, held on March 14, featured Lee Posey, Education Federal Affairs […]
Free Screening of Standardized Testing Film, Defies Measurement, March 28
Tredyffrin Public Library will host a free screening of the film, Defies Measurement, Monday, March 28, 7 PM. The screening is followed by a panel discussion. RSVP and more information at: http://bit.ly/PSSAinfo PSSA Night PDF
Governor Wolf Allows 15-16 Budget to Pass Without Signature, Will Veto Fiscal Code
This week, Governor Tom Wolf announced that he would let the Republican-sponsored 2015-2016 budget, House Bill 1801, become law without his signature, stating “This will allow for funding to go out to schools and other services in the short term, but we still face enormous problems that this budget does not even pretend to address.” […]