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Amid the usual partisan bickering on too many topics, there came from Harrisburg recently several promising moves regarding education:
• Under a new program signed into law last week by Gov. Tom Wolf, spouses and children of Pennsylvania National Guard members to attend college at no cost or a reduced cost.
The first initiative of its kind in the nation, the PA GI Bill, or Military Family Education Program, was passed unanimously by the state House and Senate.
• Local school districts again saw modest increases in state money for education, but it differed this year, with the state boosting funding for special education at a higher rate than for basic education, our Mark Guydish reported on Wednesday.
The change comes after the Education Law Center issued a scathing report criticizing the state for “shortchanging children with disabilities” for the last decade.
• As reported by the Associated Press in today’s edition, Pennsylvania students who attend one of the 14 state-owned universities won’t see higher tuition next year as a result of a board vote Wednesday, the first such freeze in more than 20 years.
The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to keep in-state tuition flat at about $7,700, the AP reported. Nearly 90% of the system’s students hail from Pennsylvania.
• Also in today’s edition, Guydish reports that state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale issued a report Wednesday making the case for dropping the state Keystone Exam system used to gauge high school student academic achievement.
The Keystones have taken a beating for several reasons since the state introduced them in the 2012-13 school year, Guydish reports. On top of that, they were instituted as a response to a federal mandate that all states devise a secondary-level standardized tests. That mandate no longer exists.
While DePasquale’s report by no means signals the end of the controversial tests, his voice carries enough weight that we would expect policymakers to consider his arguments.
We believe each of these moves, affecting four very different aspects of the state’s education system and different constituencies, is a step in the right direction for students and families.
— Times Leader