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Education reform now in the hands of state House
Senate-passed legislation would infuse fresh thinking in public education in Pa.
Pennsylvania Chamber members welcomed Senate passage of legislation (S.B. 1) that would increase educational opportunities for Pennsylvania students. The education reform measure, which contains many of the reform proposals advanced by Gov. Tom Corbett, passed the Senate on Wednesday, Oct. 26 by a vote of 27-22. S.B. 1 would establish a school voucher system to provide low-income students in the Commonwealth’s poorest performing school districts with the option to attend a public or nonpublic school of their choice if their local public school fails to meet their needs, making about 70,000 children from the bottom 5 percent of school districts eligible. The measure also would expand the successful Educational Improvement Tax Credit program – from $75 million to $125 million by 2014 – which provides tax credits to businesses that donate to scholarship programs and other alternative education programs. Not included in the proposal was the governor’s call to improve the current teacher evaluation system and language to expand authorization of charter schools in the Commonwealth. The teacher evaluation changes have been introduced as a separate bill (H.B. 1980). The bipartisan S.B. 1, authored by state Sens. Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin, and Anthony Williams, D-Phila., would infuse fresh thinking into Pennsylvania’s public education system, which has experienced declining test scores and increased school drop-out rates despite increased investment over the past two decades. PA Chamber members support the concepts contained in S.B. 1, as reflected in the Chamber’s education policy, because they would infuse competition in education. In a press release issued after the Senate vote, the PA Chamber stressed that choice and competition help drive business success in the private sector, and can do the same for public education. Believing that an expansion of educational options is necessary to drive student achievement and encourage failing schools to correct their problems, the PA Chamber sent a memo to lawmakers prior to final passage of S.B. 1 urging their support. The measure now moves to the state House of Representatives for consideration. ### Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business. |
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