Education
Penn State president says sexual assaults, alcohol offenses down after Greek life reforms
This article was edited on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. to include new comments from a Penn State spokesman about sexual assault. Anti-hazing reforms at Pennsylvania State University have contributed to a drop in sexual assaults and alcohol-related offenses in the first year since they took effect, the university’s president said Tuesday. In 2017-18, […]
A state full of commuters who work in healthcare: This is Pa. today | The Numbers Racket
The state's biggest employer may not be who you think it is.
Pa. Gov. Wolf’s plan to boost teachers’ base pay is long overdue | Opinion
It’s time for teachers' salaries to catch up and reflect the many roles and responsibilities we have today.
Charter schools exploit lucrative loophole that would be easy to close | Both Sides Now
Charter school operators have been capitalizing on lax laws that let them lease building space to themselves at above-market rates. A simple ban could end the practice, two education scholars argue.
It’s time to stop attacking public cyber-charter school education | Both Sides Now
By Ana Meyers While parents throughout the state work to find the right educational environment for their children, many in Pennsylvania want to see the expansion of effective charter schools prevented altogether. These special interest groups are driven to protect the system, the traditional way of doing things, and their own pocketbooks rather than providing […]
New report claims $250M savings from cyber-charter funding reform
A progressive advocacy group says fixing the way Pennsylvania funds cyber-charter schools would save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year, cut down on waste at the schools, and improve student outcomes. The group, Education Voters of Pa., says it wants lawmakers to set a statewide tuition rate for the online schools at […]
Schuylkill County teachers will continue legal fight against arming school staff
A Schuylkill County judge says she needs more information from a local teachers union before ruling on a policy that would allow employees to carry firearms in schools. The Tamaqua Education Association said Thursday it will file an amended complaint in the coming days against the Tamaqua School District, which adopted a policy last year permitting some […]
Parkland, One Year Later: This is what these South Florida high school shooting survivors want you to know
To relive what I experienced every single day and be saddled with the guilt of survival, leads to an excruciating existence. But I know I’m not alone. All of us at MSD are inexorably linked to a frighteningly growing list of mass shooting survivors.
Taxing video games won’t be enough to keep Pa. schools safe, bipartisan legislators say
A suburban Philly lawmaker’s suggestion to furnish school safety dollars by taxing violent video games received a lot of press — with occasional blowback — this week. Bills from Rep. Chris Quinn, R-Delaware, would slap a 10 percent tax on all games rated M or higher to pay for school safety funding. According to the video […]
Wolf panned Corbett’s education policies, but inherited his charter review board without complaint: report
Gov. Tom Wolf ran for the state’s top spot in 2014 promising to improve education across the Commonwealth, but he’s had a light touch on charter school regulation during his first term in office. Wolf hasn’t made a single appointment to the state’s Charter Schools Appeal Board, according to a report in The Notebook, a […]
Lehigh County lawmaker blasts lack of Latino enrollment in Pa’s state-owned universities
An Allentown lawmaker whose district is majority Latino laced into the head of Pennsylvania’s state university system Tuesday, saying it’s “shameful” that new Latino enrollment has dropped, even as the system schools have touted their recruiting efforts. State Rep. Peter Schweyer, a Democrat, told Daniel Greenstein, the new chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, […]
Suburban Philly lawmaker’s bill would require schools to teach students about dating violence
A Montgomery County lawmaker is hoping the second time’s the charm on bill that would require Pennsylvania high schools to teach “dating violence” education to their students. In a ‘Dear Colleague’ memo sent out late last week, Rep. Thomas P. Murt, a Republican from Hatboro, cited Centers for Disease Control data showing that “approximately 10 percent […]