PITTSBURGH, Feb. 5 – State Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Allegheny, today hosted “Ought to Be a Law,” a competition that encourages civic participation by having Shaler Area High School students submit proposals for state legislation. “Seeing how policy and lawmaking work is a great way for civic engagement to stay with students as they grow older,” Powell said. “I am so proud to see the amazing work of our students as they engage with policymaking, discover the local issues that matter to them, and learn about how government can fix these concerns and work for them.” The competition followed general themes inspired by real legislation in Harrisburg that would impact students, such as delayed school start times , mental health days for students , and anti-discrimination policies. The winning proposed legislation from the event includes: State Infrastructure: Sidewalks and Traffic Control , introduced by Max Post and David Plawski. Skill Classes in High Schools , introduced by Olivia Lourenco. Raising the Minimum Wage , introduced by Joel Searock and Quincy Montgomery. PA Road Visibility and Safety Act , introduced by Addy Applbaum and Jaylynn Jones. Censorship in Curriculum , introduced by Elizabeth Dunlevy and Madelyn Hannan. Summaries of each winning proposal can be found here . Read more
HARRISBURG, Feb. 3 – State Rep. Peter Schweyer, Majority Chair of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee, released the following statement today in support of Governor Shapiro’s budget address: “Today, the Governor told Pennsylvania students and their families that regardless of where they live, they deserve a quality education. By continuing to build on the historic investments in K-12 education that we first started two years ago, the governor’s multi-year plan to bring adequacy, equity and accountability into the school funding system is being fulfilled. “This proposal calls for directing funding to the schools that need it most and includes a $50M increase in Basic Education Funding and a $50M increase in Special Education. These investments will mean children will have more qualified teachers in their classrooms, better access to new technology, safe and comfortable learning environments and improved support for their mental health and wellbeing. “Additionally, the governor is continuing his calls for increasing access to career and technical education, so students wishing to enter career paths in the trades can have an easier opportunity to do so. With $10M for supporting STEM and computer science programs and a $3.5M increase in the PA’s School-to-Work Program which provides registered pre-apprenticeship career pathways. “For students enrolled or are planning to go on to higher education after high Read more
HARRISBURG, Feb. 2 – The Pennsylvania House Education Committee convened an informational meeting today to discuss the most recent academic results, school progress and student success measures from the Future Ready PA Index. “Today, we got to take a closer look at the system which assesses the academic performance of Pennsylvania schools and the latest results on how our children are progressing throughout their education,” said state Rep. Peter Schweyer, Majority Chair of the House Education Committee. “I want to thank all of the testifiers who participated in today’s discussion for providing key insight into student performance and addressing challenges schools continue to face.” The discussion featured testifiers from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators as well as additional perspectives from education advocates. “Since the 2020-21 school year, state assessment proficiency rates in math and science have increased modestly year over year. While we have not reached pre-pandemic levels, these gains are consistent with gains seen by other states. Graduation rates have increased continually and surpassed pre-pandemic levels. English language growth and attainment increased for the second consecutive year. Career readiness remains stable above 91% and regular attendance increased for two consecutive years in Pennsylvania, while decreasing nationally since 2023,” said Read more
On Monday, Feb. 2, the House Education Committee convened an informational meeting to discuss the latest results of the Future Ready PA Index which measures the academic performance of PA schools and the education benchmarks of students. Read more
I look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Education on fair and equitable education funding, ensuring safe and comfortable learning environments for students and teachers and expanding opportunities for career and technical education. Read more
On Monday, Nov. 17, the House Education and Health Committees convened a joint hearing to discuss the issue of cell phones in schools. Read more
The average age of a Pennsylvania public school is over 70 years old, and we need to know what issues need to be addressed so children and teachers can have safe and updated educational spaces. Read more
On Monday, Sept. 22, the House Education Committee convened a public hearing to discuss school facilities and HB 1701. Read more
Late last month, Schweyer also circulated a memo proposing a standardized process for cyber charter schools to conduct wellness checks and establish a “crisis escalation process” for checks that reveal serious concerns. Read more
It is our goal to close loopholes, too often exploited by the purveyors of cyber charter schools that allow some students to fall through the cracks. Read more
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
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