Archived Updates

Below is a list of recent Education Updates (pdf).  CLICK HERE for the current Update.

October 23:  What's on the Table as PA Lawmakers Attempt to End the Budget Stalemate; PA Senate Education Committee Advances Bill to Let Parents Review Explicit Material in Schools; Casey, Romney Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Early Childhood Education Training; legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

October 3:  Fetterman Introduces Legislation to Cancel School Lunch Debt; Pennsylvania Basic Education Funding Commission Holds Fifth Meeting; How a Pennsylvania Superintendent Set Out to Restore Her District's Secondary Grades; In Rural Pennsylvania, A Small Non-Profit Helps Schools Develop STEM Education and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

September 25: Lawmakers Grapple with Fixing PA's Unconstitutional School Funding System; Six Takeaways From The First Week Of Hearings To Change PA's School Funding System; PA Public Schools Underfunded By $6.2 Billion, Study Finds and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

August 28: Free Breakfast For All In PA Public Schools Makes Stigma Disappear;  Court Ruling On PA Education Funding Puts School Infrastructure In Spotlight; PA Searches For Homeschooling Spikes By Over 70%: Report and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

August 14: 6 Reasons Why Your Campus Should Install Window Safety Film; Shapiro Promotes PA Schools Universal Free Breakfast Program In Western PA Visit; New Partnership Gives Pittsburgh Public Students Access To 24/7 Tutoring Services; Keeping Principals On The Job: These Numbers Show How;  legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

August 7: The Number Of Students In Special Education Has Doubled In The Past 45 Years; PA Gov Shapiro Signs $45.5B Budget But Lawmakers Have More Work To Do; PA Department of Education Reduces Wait Time For New Teacher Certification; 8 Creative Strategies To Combat Summer Learning Loss For K-12 Students and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

July 31: PA Senate 'Will Return' In August To Clear Budget Impasse, Kim Ward Says; PA Lawmakers Won't Appeal The Landmark School Funding Decision; Does Parent Involvement Really Help Students? Here's What The Research Says and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

July 24: These 3 Strategies Are Key When Creating A School-Based Wellness Center; Pennsylvania House Passes Bill Giving Schools Flexibility To Hire Substitutes; PA School Officials Feeling Uncertain About Budget Impasse and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

July 17 : PA Is Still Without A Final Budget. What Does The Impasse Mean For State, County Programs? Western PA School Districts Could Feel Ramifications If State Budget Impasse Stretches Beyond September; Norristown Area School District Superintendent Takes Advocacy To National Education Conference In Washington D.C. and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

July 3:  Khalid Mumin Confirmed As PA Secretary Of Education; PA Could Be A Model For Solar-Powered Schools--If It Can Get Past Political Divisions; SCOTUS Declines To Hear Landmark Charter Case; USDA To Give States $1.3B To Purchase School Meals, PA legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

June 26: After A School Shooting, A Principal Launches A Nonprofit To Improve Students' Mental Health; Bill Introduced to Give Retired PA Educators First Cost-of-Living Raise in 20 Years; PA Offers New Grants to Help Put More Special Education Teachers in Classrooms, legislative updates,  and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

June 20: How Teacher Bias And School Culture Shape School Discipline; PA Lawmakers Move Ahead On Stipends To Ease Financial Burdens For Student Teachers; House Proposal Would Restore Fully Refundable Child Tax Credit and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

June: 12: Biden Administration Asks Districts To Investigate Their Discipline Disparities; PA Educators And Students Rally In Harrisburg As Teacher Shortage Reaches Record Numbers; Disputes Over Education Spending, Cash Reserves Emerge As PA Budget Deadline Approaches; Ed Dept. To Appoint Coordinator To Take On Book Ban Nationwide,  legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

June 5: Schools Tap Multiple Approaches To Prevent Fentanyl Poisoning; Governor Shapiro Highlights Universal Free Breakfast Proposal For Pennsylvania Students In Visit To Montgomery County Elementary School and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

May 30:  How to Recruit And Retain Billingual Teachers And Men Of Color; Drivers Illegally Pass Buses 42 Million Times A Year. What Schools Can Do; Final Title IX Rules Delayed To October 2023 and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

May 15: Parents Are Suing Schools Over Pronoun Policies. Here's What You Need To Know; Shapiro Administration Announces 2024 Pennsylvania Teacher Of The Year Finalists; Is Teacher Morale On The Rise? Results Of The Second Annual Merrimack College Teacher Survey and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

May 8: 6 Steps For Improving K-12 Student Mental Health; Auditor General Promotes Financial Education, Supports Curriculum Being Taught In All PA Schools; The Mind-Expanding Value of Arts, legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

May 1: Staffed Up: How Would An Affirmative Action Repeal Impact Teacher Diversity?; Abington School District Superintendent Earns Regional Education Award; PA House Panel Advances Bill To Ease Teacher Shortage; Early Literacy Laws: Some Seem To Work Better Than Others, legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

April 24: Students Want To Feel Safe At School. Here's What They're Asking For; Bipartisan, Bicameral Proposal Aims To Bolster K-12 Cybersecurity; Local Educators: 'Money Does Matter' In PA Public Schools, Helps Determine Students' Outcomes;  legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

April 17: Schools Turn To AI To Detect Weapons. But Some Question The Tech's Effectiveness; PA Issues The Lowest Number Ever Of New Teaching Certificates As Educators Shortage Worsens; Pennsylvania Launches Program To Teach Students Disability Inclusion; What Happened When A District Decided To 'Mess With High School' and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

April 11: 5 Tips For Designing School Spaces That Support Students' Mental Health; PA Department of Education Launches Disability-Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program; 98 Percent of Schools In PA Have Had To Raise Taxes To Provide An Adequate Education;  legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

April 3- Students Push Schools To Overhaul Dress Codes: Their Success Stories and Lessons Learned Making Education In PA 'Look Different' Focus Of Senate Budget Hearing; PA Lawmakers Propose Stipend Program For Student-Teachers and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

March 27- One Way To Set Up Students For Success: Let Them Sleep; Supreme Court Rules Deaf Student Can Sue School District Over Alleged Failures; Shapiro Touts Proposed K-12 Spending In Pittsburgh, Saying It Gives Every Kid 'A Fair Shot' and more in this edition of the Education Update.

March 20 -  Mental Health And The Pandemic: What U.S. Surveys Have Found; With Gun Control Far From Sight, Schools Redesign For Student Safety; PA Advocates Push For New Level Up Funds Ahead of 2023-24 Budget Negotiations; Shapiro Plan Tackles Teacher Shortage; New Pennsylvania Program Aims To Train Students To Become Teachers and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

March 13-  Teachers of Color Are Most At Risk In Upcoming Layoffs, Reports Says; President Biden's Budget Advances Equity; PA Budget Hearings Set; Schweyer Named Education Committee Majority Chairman; Gov. Josh Shapiro Calls Historic School Funding Ruling 'A Call To Action.' Here's What His Budget Would Do For PA Schools and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

March 6-  Keying in K-12 Equity; Shapiro To Propose Tax Credit For Frontline Personnel; Teachers Should Make At Least $60K Annually, Education Official Tells PA Senate Committee; A District's Long-Term Investment In Cultivating Future Teachers Is Paying Off and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

February 28 - Teen Morale and Optimism Are On The Rise. Are You Surprised?; How One School's Mentorship Program Paid Off Big In Academic Gains; A Perfect School Funding System Is Hard To Find. As PA Searches For A Fix, Here's What Other States Do; and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

February 21 - Universal School Meals Improve Attendance for Youngest Students; Pennsylvania Schools Team With Police on New App; Report: PA's Budget Future 'Almost Paradoxical' and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

February 13: - PA Court Declares State's System for Funding K-12 Public Schools Unconstitutional; Four Countries Want Students To Help Their Schools Fight Cyber Threats; New Report Offers Solutions To 'Dire' Teacher Shortage Crisis In Pennsylvania and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

February 6:  This School Is A Model For Wellness and Student Learning. See Why; USDA Clamps Down On Salt And Sugar In Proposed School Nutrition Guidelines; Topper Named Republican Chairman Of House Education Committee; 3 Things That Keep Superintendents In Their Jobs,  legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

January 30: -The Ongoing Challenges, and Possible Solutions, to Improving Education Equity; PIAA Holds Webinar on NIL; Experts, Advocates Focus on Expanding the Job Pipeline for Black Male Teachers and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

January 23:  5 Big Challenges For Schools In 2023; Even With A Budget Surplus, Josh Shapiro Faces Big Education Challenges In Pennsylvania; What Districts Can Do To Prevent Teachers From Quitting Mid-Year; legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

January 17: U.S. Kindergarten Vaccination Rate Dropped Again, Data Shows; PA House Bill Would Make It Easier For Parents To Attend School Events; ChatGPT Advice Academics Can Use Now, legislative updates and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

January 9:  -8 K-12 Trends to Watch in 2023; Shapiro Nominates Secretaries of Education, Labor and Industry, and Administration; What Does PA and Federal Law Say About Transgender Student Rights? and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

January 2: What Researchers Learned From Analyzing Decades of Civil Rights Complaints Against Schools; How School Funding Falls Short, by the Numbers; Teachers in the U.S. Face Low Pay Relative to Their Level of Education and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

December 19: Educators Largely Support Universal Free Meals for Students, But Worry About Complications; The Coming Education Wars; Teachers Would Make at Least $60K Under New Federal Bill and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

December 12: School Kids Should Eat More Fish, Federal Agency Says; Schools are Resegregating. There's a Push for the Supreme Court to Consider That; PA Officials Say School-Based Health Centers are Needed to Bridge Equity Gaps and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

December 5: COVID Hurt Student Learning: Key Findings From a Year of Research; PA School Test Scores Still Trail Pre-Pandemic Levels; PA Property Tax Relief Supporters Have a New Friend in Josh Shapiro and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

November 28: What Schools Can Do to Ease Students' Anxiety; PA Releases Anti-Racist Guidelines as Part of Teacher Prep Overhaul;  After a Rash of Student Suicides, This School District Stepped Up and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

November 21:  Later School Start Times Could Help Teachers, Too; Study Finds 'Huge' Increase in Children Going to the Emergency Room with Suicidal Thoughts and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

November 14: Building an Effective SEL Program: Lessons From 3 Districts; USDA Invests $50 Million for Schools & Food Industry to Work Together to Strengthen School Meals;  How My District Overcame Our Dire Bus Driver Shortage; How "Education Freedom" Played in the Midterms and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

November 7: Kids' Mental Health is in Crisis. Schools Can Get Them Help Through a $1 Billion Fund; School Funding, Property Taxes & 'Parental Bill of Rights' on the Line in PA Gov. Race;  The Learning Recovery Strategy Districts Are Overlooking and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

November 1: - Girls and Students of Color are Unfairly Targeted by School Dress Code, National Report Says; Big Changes Needed to Reverse Plunging Student Achievement, Education Secretary Says; Why Some Schools are Adding 'Directors of Wellness' to Their Leadership Teams, updates to SB 492, HB 365, SB 786 and SB 996 and more in this edition of the Education Update. 

October 17:  Want Test Scores to Improve? Make Engaging Families a Top Priority; Rep. Conklin, State College School District Call for Universal Free Meals for K-12 Students; One-Time PD is Not Effective. Why Do Districts Still Rely on It? ; and more in this edition of the Education Update.