In an April 18, 2019 news release, PDE announced a new initiative, resulting from a partnership forged with the College Board, which would allow economically disadvantaged high school students to possibly earn college credit through taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams at a reduced cost of $20 per exam, rather than the normal cost of $85 per test.

Beginning with the 2019 exams, the Commonwealth will pay $33 toward the $85 cost for each exam for economically disadvantaged students, which along with the College Board’s $32 fee reduction, will allow students who qualify to pay only $20 per test. Students are considered low-income if they qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The College Board will bill PDE for each qualifying student who takes an AP test at the end of an AP course.

Economically disadvantaged students may also potentially benefit from taking AP courses and scoring well on the end-of-course test, since some colleges use AP scores to exempt students from intro courses, which could result in saving money and reducing the time it would take to earn a degree.

In an April 18, 2019 news release, PDE announced a new initiative, resulting from a partnership forged with the College Board, which would allow economically disadvantaged high school students to possibly earn college credit through taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams at a reduced cost of $20 per exam, rather than the normal cost of $85 per test.

Beginning with the 2019 exams, the Commonwealth will pay $33 toward the $85 cost for each exam for economically disadvantaged students, which along with the College Board’s $32 fee reduction, will allow students who qualify to pay only $20 per test. Students are considered low-income if they qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The College Board will bill PDE for each qualifying student who takes an AP test at the end of an AP course.

Economically disadvantaged students may also potentially benefit from taking AP courses and scoring well on the end-of-course test, since some colleges use AP scores to exempt students from intro courses, which could result in saving money and reducing the time it would take to earn a degree.

Last week, the PA House passed a pair of bills to address child sexual abuse cases.   HB 962 would amend the PA Judicial Code to eliminate the statute of limitations on future child sexual abuse cases if the victim was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense. The bill also extends the time that an individual is entitled to pursue civil action from 12 to 37 years (up to age 55) after reaching 18 years of age . Sovereign and governmental immunity would not apply with respect to offenses committed if the conduct of the entity that caused injury to the plaintiff constitutes gross negligence. HB 963 proposes an amendment to the state Constitution to provide a two-year window from the effective date of the act for lawsuits against the state in cases regarding childhood sexual abuse in instances where the statute of limitations has expired. Constitutional amendments require approval in two consecutive legislative sessions and then approval by the voters through a referendum. House Bill 962 becomes effective following the first passage of House Bill 963 by both chambers of the General Assembly. Thanks to PSBA for its contributions to this article.