Senate Education Committee Public Hearing
Senate Bill 1
February 16, 2011
9:15 – 9:30 am Opening Remarks: Senator Jeff Piccola, Majority Chairman,
Senator Andy Dinniman, Democratic Chairman,
Senator Anthony Williams
9:30 – 10:00 am Secretary-Designate, The Honorable Ronald Tomalis,
PA Department of Education
10:00 – 10:30 am REACH Alliance
10:30 – 11:00 am Education Law Center (ELC)
11:00 – 11:30 am Students First
11:30 – noon Break
Noon – 12:30 pm PA State Education Association (PSEA)
12:30 – 1:00 pm Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO)
1:00 – 1:30 pm AFT Pennsylvania
1:30 – 2:00 pm Center for Education Reform
2:00 – 2:30 pm PA Association of School Administrators (PASA)
2:30 – 3:00 pm Commonwealth Foundation
3:00 – 3:30 pm PA School Boards Association (PSBA)
Start the conversation here
Vouchers
PA Senator Anthony Hardy Williams to be Interviewed as Part of NBC’s Education Nation Series
Leading Advocate on School Reform to Discuss School Choice and Other Key Education Issues
September 28, 2010 [Philadelphia, PA] -- One of the nation’s leaders in the school reform and school choice movements, Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams PA (Dem-8th), will appear on NBC 10 News @ 4 PM on Wednesday September 29th as part of the NBC Network’s weeklong series Education Nation. The series which is being aired across all NBC Networks, will examine issues surrounding education reform, school choice, providing a quality education for all children and some of the proposed solutions. Senator Williams will provide his perspective on many educational issues including charter schools, closing failing schools, the issues at South Philadelphia High School and his Opportunity Scholarship Bill, Senate Bill 1405.
Senator Williams has been a school reform advocate for more than 20 years. His fierce advocacy for the charter school movement has resulted in Pennsylvania having one of the highest concentrations of charter schools in the nation. The senator believes that all children should have the opportunity to receive a quality education so he wrote and sponsored Senate Bill 1405. The bill provides low-income students from failing public school districts opportunity scholarships to attend a private or parochial school. The bill has received broad based support. Both Pennsylvania Gubernatorial candidates Democrat Dan Onorato and Republican Tom Corbett have pledged their support of SB 1405 and recently the IBEW Local 98 and the Laborers’ District Council of the Metropolitan Area of Philadelphia and Vicinity announced their support. Senate Committee hearings are scheduled for SB 1405 in October. (see below for details; LAF)
Williams is a member of the PA Senate Education Committee, the Digital Learning Council led by former Governors Jeb Bush and Bob Wise and is a Board Member of BAEO, Black Alliance for Educational Options.
For more information about Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, please visit www.senatoranthonyhwilliams.com.
http://senatoranthonyhwilliams.com/media/releases/2010/Sept28.htm
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Senate Bill 1405:
An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, providing for the Opportunity Scholarship Act.
Sponsors: WILLIAMS, D. WHITE, FOLMER and EICHELBERGER
Text: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2009&sind=0&body=S&type=B&BN=1405
Senate Education Committee Hearing on SB1405 Scheduled for Wednesday, October 13, 2010; 9:30 AM
Public hearing on the Future of School Choice/Opportunity Scholarships in Pennsylvania
Hearing Room 1, North Office Bldg.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence A. Feinberg on -
Senator zeroes in on school choice legislation in 2011
JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News
Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 10:27 PM Updated: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 10:35 PM
With both gubernatorial candidates supporting government-funded grants to parents to use at any school they choose for their children, Sen. Jeffrey Piccola hopes to grease the skids to make it a reality soon after the victor takes his oath of office.
The Dauphin County Republican, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, is planning a daylong hearing on Oct. 13 in the North Office Building Hearing Room 1 in the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg on the topic of school choice.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/09/senator_zeroes_i...
Here is a link to the Columbus Dispatch article cited in the above Pennlive article:
September 23, 2010-09-29
By Jennifer Smith Richards
On the whole, Ohio students who used tax-funded vouchers to attend private schools last school year did no better on state tests than public-school students.
http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/201...
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence A. Feinberg on
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Here is the final agenda for the Wednesday 10/13 Senate Education Commitee Hearing:
PUBLIC HEARING ON
THE FUTURE OF SCHOOL CHOICE/OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
North Office Building, Hearing Room 1, Harrisburg
9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Agenda
9:30 AM – 9:45 AM
Opening Remarks
The Honorable Jeffrey E. Piccola, Chairman 15th Senatorial District
The Honorable Andrew Dinniman, Minority Chairman 19th Senatorial District
The Honorable Anthony Williams, Committee Member 8th Senatorial District
Viewing of the “WAITING FOR SUPERMAN” movie trailer
9:45 AM – 10:15 AM
Otto V. Banks, Executive Director REACH Foundation
Carmen Garcia, student and EITC Recipient Bishop McDevitt H.S., Harrisburg
Christine Ross, parent Central Christian Academy, Washington Co.
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM
Robert C. Enlow, CEO The Foundation for Educational Choice
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM
Doug Tuthill, President Step Up for Students, Florida
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM
Darlene Callands, President--Philadelphia BAEO (Black Alliance for Educational Options)
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
Shelly D. Yanoff, Executive Director Public Citizens for Children and Youth
12:15 PM – 12:45 PM
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Bridges Parents of EITC recipients, Philadelphia
Tanisha Clark, Student Center City Academy, Philadelphia
Arnetta Swain, Parent Spruce Hill Christian School, Philadelphia
______________________________________________________________________________
12:45 PM – 1 PM
Lunch Break
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Philip J. Murren, Counsel Ball, Murren and Connell
Dick Komer, Senior Counsel The Institute for Justice
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Matthew Brouillette, President Commonwealth Foundation
2:00 PM –2:30 PM
Jeremy Resnick, Executive Director Propel Charter Schools
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Jerry Oleksiak, Treasurer Pennsylvania State Education Association
Jerry Mondesire, President NAACP, PA and Philadelphia Chapters
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Lawrence A. Feinberg, Co-Chairman Southeastern PA School Districts’ Edu. Coalition
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Ronald R. Cowell, President and CEO Education Policy and Leadership Center
Anita Weikel, Manager of Policy Information Education Policy and Leadership Center
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Rev. Terrence Griffith, First Vice President Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Kirk Hallett, Founder and Director Joshua Group, Harrisburg
Myron Brooks, II Joshua Group, Harrisburg
Myron Brooks, III Joshua Group, Harrisburg
--End--
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence A. Feinberg on
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I am attaching a copy of testimony that I will be presenting at the hearing on behalf of the members of both the Delaware County School Boards Legislative Council and the Southeastern PA School Districts' Education Coalition.
- Attachments:
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence A. Feinberg on
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Here is a link to the agenda, all submitted written testimony and video from the Senate Education Committee hearing on school choice held on October 13th:
http://piccola.org/education/2010/101310/agenda.htm
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence A. Feinberg on
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Senate Education Committee Majority Chairman Jeff Piccola was quoted in the Lebanon Daily News last week discussing the imminent introduction of a new voucher bill,
Senate Bill 1:"The legislation Sen. Williams and I will introduce in the next session will be somewhat broader than the bill he introduced last session," Piccola said. "Our
bill, which will be Senate Bill 1, would provide opportunity scholarships to
low-income children across the Commonwealth who wish to attend either a private
school or a public school in a school district other than where they
reside."According to the PA Department of State’s Campaign Finance Reporting website, during 2010 the Students First PAC, a voucher advocacy PAC, contributed $5,956,913.07 to
Pennsylvania
candidates, including 6 members of the 11 member Senate Education
Committee.Read more: Follow the voucher money
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence A. Feinberg on
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence A. Feinberg on
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Madonna Poll shows 67% of Pennsylvanians oppose giving public money to parents so they can send their children to private school
Poll shows public opposes the concept of taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers
Agenda for Senate Education Committee Public Hearing Senate Bill 1 February 16, 2011
On February 16, 2011, the PA Senate Education Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 1, which would provide taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers for parents to send their children to private or religious schools.
According to the PA Department of State’s Campaign Finance Reporting website, during 2010 the Students First PAC, a voucher advocacy PAC, contributed $5,956,913.07 to Pennsylvania candidates, including 6 members of the Senate Education Committee.
I have noted the amounts contributed to each of the cosponsors of SB 1 listed below.
Senate Bill 1 is now posted on the General Assembly’s website:
Sponsors Listed: PICCOLA, WILLIAMS ($5,077,413.07), SCARNATI ($100,000), PILEGGI ($100,000), FOLMER ($20,000), BROWNE ($15,000), SMUCKER, ALLOWAY, ERICKSON,RAFFERTY, EICHELBERGER, PIPPY, D. WHITE, MENSCH, BRUBAKER, WASHINGTON and STACK
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/BillInfo.cfm?syear=201...
PSBA is tracking statewide press coverage of the Voucher issue:
http://www.psba.org/news-publications/headlines/?category_id=42
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