On July 12, 2023 the PA State Board of Education held its 375th meeting. The meeting was held both in person and via virtual means.

At the meeting, Chairperson Karen Farmer White announced that Dr. Khalid Mumin has been confirmed by the PA Senate to serve as the PA Secretary of Ed. Chairperson White also introduced Dr. Carrie Rowe, who is the new PA Deputy Sec. of Ed. for Elementary and Secondary Ed. She also reported that four new Board members, who were nominated by Governor Shapiro, have been confirmed to serve on the Basic Council of Education.

Later during the meeting, during her remarks to the Board, Deputy Sec. Rowe spoke of the urgent need for aviation mechanics and how schools need to make this known to students considering a career.

Chairperson White also recognized Highmark as a Student Leadership Program Partner and a resolution was passed to acknowledge the support Highmark has provided via grant funding to provide an opportunity for student voices to be heard in the state education process through student members of the Board.

The Special and Gifted Ed. Committee presented an eight-page report. It was stated that there is a periodic review – every four years – of Chapter 16. The most recent review began in the fall of 2022. Recommendations to improve the delivery of gifted ed. was provided to the Board by the committee. Those recommendations included such items as:           
-School districts should be required to post their approved gifted ed. plan on their website as is currently done with Chapter 4 procedures.
-There needs to be an increase in understanding the characteristics of gifted students.
-There is a need to provide training for educators regarding the delivery of gifted ed. through IUs and for data regarding such.
-Undergrad teacher prep coursework should be required to include gifted ed.
-There is a need to expand the advisory committee to ensure including school psychologists since they play such a critical role on identifying gifted students.
-The committee supports revising guidelines for identifying gifted ed. students, including a look at criteria used.  
-Caseloads for gifted ed. instructors must be examined for appropriateness and should be monitored.
-The Board should provide the report to the General Assembly along with a request for an increase in state funding for gifted ed.

The Professional Standards and Practices Commission presented its annual report, which noted that 45% of disciplinary actions taken against school staff by the commission were related to sexual misconduct. It was also reported that a new model of ethics for educators will be developed in keeping with Chapter 49.

A report titled “How the Pandemic and Remote Learning Shaped Education and Health Outcomes in Pennsylvania” was given by PDE’s Candy Miller and officials from Mathematica. The report was based on survey information from LEAs during the summer and fall of 2021. Other sources of data came from PDE and DHS. The report looked at school instruction changes and found, among other things, that LEAs had a difficult time of providing special ed. services and that there was a higher attrition rate for early career staff and staff of color. It also found that remote learning by itself had a negative impact on test scores, but did not appear to affect graduation rates.

The State Board will post its 2024 meeting calendar on the PDE website.

On July 5, 2023 the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a budget that includes the largest increase in Basic Education Funding in Pennsylvania history, state funding for indigent defense for the first time, and significant investments in public safety, workforce & economic development, and agriculture.

HB 611, a budget bill for fiscal year 2023-24, is expected to be signed by Governor Shapiro. The budget provides historic funding for public K-12 basic education, significant investments in workforce development, new funding for community and economic development, and critical investments in agriculture and public safety.

Knowing that the House and Senate would not reach consensus to enact the PASS scholarship program and unwilling to hold up the entire budget process over the issue, the Governor plans to line-item veto the full $100 million appropriation for that program.

“A budget is a statement of our priorities – and with new investments in students, teachers, seniors, moms, families, farmers, workers, cops, emergency responders, business owners, and more, this is a budget for all Pennsylvanians,” said Governor Shapiro. “Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation with a full-time, divided legislature – meaning nothing gets done unless it can make it through our Republican-led Senate and our Democratic-led House. I’m proud that this budget – one that makes historic investments in public education, public safety, workforce development, agriculture, and economic development – passed both the House and Senate, and I look forward to signing it.”

Historic $1 Billion Investment in K-12 Public Education

This budget makes a $1 billion investment in K-12 public schools, including the largest increase in the Basic Education Funding (BEF) Formula in Pennsylvania history. Thanks to this budget, for the first time ever, Pennsylvania will spend over $10 billion on K-12 public education funding. This budget includes:

• $567 million in basic education funding for Pennsylvania school districts to be distributed through the Basic Education Funding (BEF) Formula, enabling all school districts to have the basic resources they need to provide a high-quality education for Pennsylvania students.  This is the largest BEF increase in history.
• $100 million increase to Level Up to ensure more resources go to Pennsylvania’s most underfunded schools.
• $50 million in special education funding, reinforcing Pennsylvania’s commitment to equitable education for all students.
• $125 million in school safety and environmental improvement grants so all children have the opportunity to grow and learn in safe, healthy environments.
• A $46.5 million increase in funding to provide universal free breakfast to Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million public school students regardless of income and free lunch to all 22,000 Pennsylvania students who are eligible for reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program.
• $10 million to provide Pennsylvania’s student teachers with annual stipends.
• $7 million to support dual enrollment opportunities for high school students.

Expanding Apprenticeships & Vocational and Technical Education

Building off the Governor’s Executive Order announcing that 92 percent of state government jobs are open to Pennsylvanians without college degrees, this budget would ensure more Pennsylvanians have the freedom to chart their own course by expanding our workforce, investing in vo-tech, and supporting apprenticeship programs, including:

• A $23.5 million investment in workforce training and vo-tech programs.
• A$6 million investment in apprenticeship and pre-apprentice programming that will lead to family-sustaining wages.
• $3.5 million in funding for the Schools-to-Work Program through the Department of Labor & Industry to develop and expand career pathways for high school students via partnerships between schools, employers, organizations, and the Commonwealth.

Investing in Mental Health, Addressing Maternal Mortality, & Supporting EMS and Health Care Providers 

This budget makes critical investments in public health and wellness, including significant investments in mental health and the first-ever investment in addressing maternal mortality, including:

• A $66.7 million increase for Child Care Services allowing up to 75,000 low-income families to continue to be enrolled in subsidized childcare through the Child Care Works Program.
• $20 million to increase base funding for counties to provide critical mental health services and address deepening workforce shortages.
• Funding to help an additional 850 individuals with an intellectual disability and/or autism get off waitlists for home and community-based services.