The Pennsylvania House Education Committee continued its statewide review of cyber charter school accountability with a third informational meeting held on Thursday, May 8, at Stroudsburg High School. Read more
On Thursday, May 8, the House Education Committee convened its third informational meeting to discuss who oversees cyber charter schools and the transparency and accountability of cyber charter schools. Read more
The Pennsylvania House Education Committee has scheduled a series of hearings about cyber charter schools in the commonwealth. Read more
The Pennsylvania House Education Committee hosted its second hearing on May 2 in Johnstown as part of a statewide effort to address the financial implications of cyber charter school funding on taxpayers and school districts. Read more
On Friday, May 2, 2025, the PA House Education Committee convened a public informational meeting to discuss the costs to school districts to operate cyber charter schools. Read more
The academic outcomes at Pennsylvania’s 14 cyber charter school districts compare poorly to typical brick and mortar schools, according to experts who testified at a House Education Committee hearing on Friday in Lancaster. Read more
On Friday, April 25, 2025, the PA House Education Committee convened an informational meeting to discuss PA cyber charter school outcomes. Read more
Members of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee praised the Conestoga Valley academy as an alternative to cyber charter schools, which are funded by school districts across the state with taxpayer dollars Read more
The PA House Education Committee convened the first hearing in a statewide tour today to discuss cyber charter oversight and accountability. Read more
LANCASTER, April 25 – The PA House Education Committee convened the first hearing in a statewide tour today to discuss cyber charter oversight and accountability. “Today, we kicked off a series of meetings to have an honest and open discussion on Pennsylvania’s cyber charters as the recent Auditor General’s report on cyber charters has raised some serious questions and concerns,” said Schweyer, D-Lehigh, Majority Chair of the House Education Committee. “It is my hope that hearings can both educate Pennsylvanians on cyber charter schools and lead to increased transparency and accountability for these online institutions.” The hearing at Lincoln Middle School focused on student outcomes and academic performances of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools. Testifiers included representatives from the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, Education Voters of Pennsylvania, school district officials and administrators with Commonwealth Charter Academy. “The performance of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools continues to lag far behind that of traditional public schools and brick-and-mortar charter schools,” said Dr. Sherri Smith, Executive Director, PASA. “As a state, we should be very concerned about the ongoing issue of low performance and participation compliance of cyber charter schools.” According to Read more
HARRISBURG, April 16 – State Rep. Aerion A. Abney, D-Allegheny, introduced bills today that would keep Pennsylvania cyber charter schools uniform from a staffing qualification standpoint and get Commonwealth fathers more involved in the birth of their children. House Bill 1209 would mandate that 100% of cyber charter school instructors are certified to teach by the state. Currently, only 75% of educators are required to be certified. “H.B. 1209 is a simple requirement that has the success of cyber charter school students squarely in its focus,” Abney said. “Having certified teachers across the board means every single pupil receives the same quality level of instruction they deserve.” House Bill 1212 , the PA Dads Matter Act, would direct the Pennsylvania Department of Health to conduct a public awareness campaign about the importance of including fathers to improve outcomes during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. The legislation, co-authored by Rep. Morgan Cephas, would also encourage health care providers to engage fathers during prenatal care and the birthing process. “Bringing a baby into the world is a team effort between a mother and father, so it makes perfect sense to get dads up to speed on the care and needs of their child and partner alike,” Abney said. “I want to thank Rep. Cephas for partnering with me on H.B. 1212 and look forward to helping families across the Commonwealth.” A Read more
Anyone cheering the end of the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t realize just what federal funding helps pay for in every school district in the state – like making sure kids from low-income families get a good education, programs and aides for students living with disabilities, and Pell Grants to help low-income kids afford college or trade school. Read more
HARRISBURG, Feb. 25 – The Pennsylvania House Education Committee convened an informational meeting Tuesday to discuss Pennsylvania’s teacher certification process and proposals to remove the barriers for prospective educators to get into the classroom. Tuesday’s hearing featured several testifiers across three panels, who discussed the impacts of decreasing certification fees and costs to complete required training and efforts to speed up the process to certify applications to strengthen Pennsylvania’s educator workforce. “School districts across the commonwealth from Philly to Erie and Allentown to Scranton face serious challenges with recruiting and retaining qualified teachers in their classrooms,” said state Rep. Peter Schweyer, Majority Chair of the PA House Education Committee. “Today’s conversation provided meaningful insight into ways to cut the red tape for educators to receive their certification and ensure Pennsylvania’s children receive a quality education.” Testifiers included representatives from the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the Education Commission of the States (ECS), the Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Administrators (PACTA) and Teach Plus who detailed various incentives and recommendations for prospective educators to achieve their certification without lowering the thresholds. Recommendations included reducing financial burdens for certification and Read more
The Pennsylvania House Education Committee convened an informational meeting on Feb. 25, 2025 to discuss teacher certifications in the commonwealth. Read more
HARRISBURG, Feb. 19 – Pennsylvania House Education Committee Majority Chairman, Peter Schweyer, today issued the following statement on Governor Shapiro’s nomination of Dr. Carrie Rowe to serve as Secretary of Education. “Since my first day as the Chair of the House Education Committee, I have enjoyed a positive and collaborative relationship with Dr. Rowe supporting students, teachers and school administrators across Pennsylvania. Her decades of experience, knowledge and insights are invaluable, and her dedication to ensuring every child has the same educational opportunities, regardless of their zip code is unquestionable. “I support Governor Shapiro’s nomination of Dr. Rowe and the House Education Committee, and I remain fully committed to working with her and the Department of Education on continuing fair and equitable education funding, ensuring safe and comfortable learning environments for students and teachers and expanding opportunities for career and technical education,” said Schweyer. Schweyer is the Majority Chair of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee and represents the 134th Legislative District which serves a portion of the city of Allentown, all of Emmaus Borough and a portion of Salisbury Township in Lehigh County. Read more
What Pennsylvania will lose if Education Department is dismantled - Axios Read more
On Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, the PA House Education Committee convened an informational meeting on the Ready Future PA Index which measures academic performance and student success. Read more
HARRISBURG, Nov. 22 – Pennsylvania House Education Committee Majority Chairman, Peter Schweyer, today issued the following statement on the announcement of the resignation of Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Khalid N. Mumin. “Since becoming the Chair of the House Education Committee, Dr. Mumin and I have enjoyed a positive working relationship with the common goal to support and enrich Pennsylvania students as well as the teachers and faculty in our education system. His input was especially helpful as we redesigned the new basic education funding system during this past budget season. I genuinely appreciate his help and wish him the best on his future endeavors. “I would like to congratulate interim Secretary of Education, Angela Fitterer, who will be replacing Dr. Mumin. The House Education Committee and I remain fully committed to working with you and the Department of Education during and after this transition.” Schweyer represents the 134 th Legislative District which serves a portion of the city of Allentown, all of Emmaus Borough and a portion of Salisbury Township in Lehigh County. Read more
HARRISBURG, Nov. 19 – House Education Majority Chair, state Rep. Peter Schweyer is alerting students and their families that the 2025-26 FAFSA is now open. According to the U.S. Dept. of Education, the 2025-26 FAFSA is now available to everyone as it completes its beta testing period. “Now is the time many high school students are making their decisions on what they want to do and where they want to go for their postsecondary education,” Schweyer said. “By completing the FAFSA, students are taking the first step toward receiving state and federal student aid. This will help open more doors and give more students more options. I strongly encourage students and families to start filing the FAFSA as soon as possible.” Schweyer added, any Pennsylvania students or families who would like to start filling out the FAFSA now can do it online here: StudentAid.gov . Schweyer also currently serves on the Board of Directors for PHEAA. Read more
HARRISBURG, Oct. 10 – School safety administrators, resource officers, advocates and representatives from Pennsylvania agencies detailed the actions and programs they have undertaken to protect students, teachers and faculty from violence today during a House Education Committee hearing on school safety and security in Harrisburg. “School safety does not just mean safety from gun violence but the protection from and prevention of all forms of violence on school grounds,” said state Rep. Peter Schweyer, Majority Chair of the House Education Committee. “School safety is a multi-faceted issue that requires multi-faceted solutions and collaborations. I am pleased to see these agencies and administrators coming together today to have a meaningful conversation on how school safety currently looks across Pennsylvania and what we can do to continue to build on and improve our policies to ensure the safety of our children and teachers.” Thursday’s hearing at the state Capitol in Harrisburg featured testifiers from Sandy Hook Promise, The District Security Officer for the Bethlehem Area School District, the Superintendent of Northeastern School District, as well as members of the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Testifiers detailed the various programs and incentives school districts and administrators are undertaking to ensure the safest and secure learning environments are available for Read more
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