Homeland Security hosts school safety panel in Somerset County

An assistant director from Homeland Security was in Somerset County Monday for a school safety panel. Congressman John Joyce and Brian Harrell, assistant director for the Infrastructure Security Division of… Read More

Poor school districts are funding the state’s cyber charter schools, research shows. That wasn’t alw

Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools — taxpayer-funded, privately managed schools that offer their curriculum online — enrolled close to 39,000 students in the 2018-19 academic year, according to a Capital-Star analysis… Read More

Eight pieces of proposed legislation under review by lawmakers seeking to banish school property tax

While no news releases are being issued by an informal group of lawmakers studying ways to replace school property taxes with other taxes, individual members are giving clues to the… Read More

Editorial: Charter school reform badly needed in Pennsylvania

Speaking in Allentown while flanked by public school officials, Wolf said he would take action to “level the playing field for all taxpayer-funded public schools, strengthen the accountability and transparency… Read More

Reducing gun violence to save lives is aim of PA Gov. Wolf’s latest executive order

Among the many strategies they will pursue is include increasing data sharing across law enforcement agencies, holding more active shooter training sessions for commonwealth employees, focusing police deterrence in places… Read More

Pennsylvania superintendents, charter school administrators agree on need for funding changes…

Members of the Pennsylvania State Senate Education Committee heard contrasting comments this week from public education superintendents and leaders of statewide cyber charter schools about funding issues both face in… Read More

Lawmakers are talking about eliminating school property taxes. Again.

Pennsylvania’s “age-old” struggle to eliminate school property taxes and shift that tax burden elsewhere is back on Harrisburg’s radar. Whether lawmakers will actually be able to make massive changes to… Read More

Frequently Asked Questions about Compulsory School Age and Flexible Instructional Days from PDE

Below is a link to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Compulsory School Age and Flexible Instructional Days from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Click here for FAQs.

Pennsylvania’s charter schools, explained: How they work, and why Gov. Wolf wants to reform them

Whether they want more funding for traditional public schools, or support the growing charter industry, advocates and policymakers across Pennsylvania all agreed on one thing this week: The debate over… Read More

Active shooter drills have become common in Pgh-area schools but mental health effects remain…

ALICE training ?— an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate ?— has some parents, teachers and security experts concerned because of the “Counter” portion of its training. The… Read More