Friday, December 16, 2011

The EPLC Education Notebook (current and past editions) also is available by visiting the EPLC web site at http://www.eplc.org/publications-reports/weekly-policy-notebook/
 

PSERS

On December 9, the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) Board of Trustees certified an employer contribution rate of 12.36% for the fiscal year 2012-2013, which begins July 1, 2012.  The rate cap certified by the board reflects the rate caps defined in Act 120 of 2010.  Act 120 set up the employer contribution rate in predictable increments and allows for advance notice to school districts and the state for budget planning purposes.  According to Jeffrey Clay, Executive Director of PSERS, "The rate caps in Act 120 have had a dramatic impact on the employer contribution rate.  If Act 120 was not in effect, the employer rate would have jumped to 29.65% next year, rather than 12.36%."  For more information on the employer contribution, including long term projections, visit PSERS website at: http://www.psers.state.pa.us/pfr/pfr.htm.

US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

On December 13, First Lady Michelle Obama along with the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack marked the one year anniversary of the enactment of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 by highlighting the achievements in fighting child hunger and obesity and improving the overall health and nutrition of children living in the U.S.  Some of the accomplishments in the first year include:  Nutrition Standards for School Meals; Common Sense Standards for Revenue; Nationwide Expansion of At-Risk Afterschool Meals; and Categorical Eligibility for Foster Children.  Several initiatives and activities were identified for the coming year and beyond to advance the goal of making sure "all children have the basic nutrition they need to learn, grow and to pursue their dreams." 

Thirty-four Pennsylvania school districts were among 367 school districts across the United

 States and Canada being honored by the College Board last month for increasing access to

Advanced Placement course work and maintaining or increasing the percentage of students

earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams.  Achieving both of these goals is an indication that a

district's AP program is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are

likely to benefit most from AP course work.  For more information on the College Board's "AP District

of the Year" Annual Honor Roll, click here. 

On December 7, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools reported that there are now

more than two million students attending public charter schools across the nation.  Over 500

new public charter schools were created in the 2011-2012 school year, an estimated increase of

200,000 students.  According to the Alliance, this year marks the largest single-year increase in

terms of the number of additional students attending charters.  For more information on national and

statewide public charter school data, click here.
 

On December 9, a Colorado district court judge issued a rulingthat the state's system for funding schools is "irrational" and "divorced from the reality" of the state's constitution and has been "completely unresponsive" to the escalating and expensive academic mandates placed on schools.   In her ruling, Judge Sheila Rappaport emphasized the link between amount of money appropriated to schools and student achievement. In her words, "All of the evidence demonstrates a systemic failure to provide all students with the knowledge and skills mandated by the education clause and standards-based education. This failure is directly correlated to inadequate and irrational funding." The judge rejected several state key witnesses' testimony that argued that it is less about the amount of money as how wisely it is spent to close student achievement gaps. It is expected the court's decision will be appealed. The state's Attorney General has indicated that he will consult with the Governor in response to the court ruling, but has stated that school funding matters are best left to the General Assembly and the Governor to handle.

REPORTS

On December 7, the Highmark Foundation released Bullying Prevention: The Impact on Pennsylvania School Children, which indicates that thirteen percent (210,000) of Pennsylvania public school children are experiencing a safer, more responsive school climate thanks to the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP).  The OBPP has been recognized as a national model by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado.  According to the report, "The 2011 data, compiled through student self-reports, indicates that the percentage of students who bully others two to three times per month or more (between 2008 and 2010) decreased by 27 percent among elementary students, 35 percent among middle school students and 31 percent for high school students. Students' reports of being bullied two to three times per month or more also decreased.  The report findings also demonstrate that Pennsylvania school students are beginning to reach out to their peers in a more positive way. Findings show that the percentage of students who said they would "just watch" when someone is getting bullied decreased by 27 percent among elementary students, 17 percent among middle school students and 33 percent among high school students."

Earlier this month, The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released results of a survey that examined data about student enrollment in distance education courses in public schools during the 2009-2010 school year.  The survey defined distance education programs as having the following characteristics:  credit granting courses, are technology delivered, and have an instructor in a different location than the students and /or have course content developed in, or delivered from, a different location than that of the students.  The survey examined student enrollment, monitoring and accountability, deliverers and developers of distance education courses, types of courses and the extent to which various technologies were used to deliver distance education courses.  Among the key findings:

Fifty five percent of public school districts reported having students enrolled in distance education courses in 2009-2010. Among those districts, 96 percent reported having students enrolled in distance education courses at the high school level, 19 percent at the middle school or junior high level, 6 percent at the elementary school level and 4 percent in combined or ungraded schools.

Districts reported an estimated 1,816,000 enrollments in distance education courses for 2009-2010.  Seventy four percent of the distance education enrollments were in high schools, 9 percent were in middle or junior high schools and 4 percent were in elementary schools. 

Fifty percent of districts reported that a postsecondary institution in the U.S. delivered distance education courses in which students in their district were enrolled.  Other reported entities delivering distance education included independent vendors (47 percent) and a state virtual school in their state (33 percent).  Seventy five percent of districts reported that all distance education courses were developed by entities other than their district.

Districts reported that the types of distance education courses in which students enrolled were credit recovery (62 percent), dual enrollment (47 percent), Advanced Placement (29 percent), career and technical education (27 percent) and other types of academic courses (65 percent).

To read the full report, click here. 

According to a report issued this month by The National Center on Homelessness, 1.6 million American children, or 1 in 45 children, are homeless in a year.  This equates to more than 30,000 children each week and more than 4,400 each day.  Children living in a state of homelessness suffer from hunger, poor physical and emotional health and missed educational opportunities, including limited educational proficiency in math and reading.  The Center's report, America's Youngest Outcasts 2010, ranks states in the following four domains: the numbers of homeless children, their well-being, risk for child homelessness and state level planning and policy activities.  In addition to the rankings, the Outcast 2010 report offers solutions to address and prevent family homelessness.

To read the full report and to find out where Pennsylvania ranks, click here.

DATEBOOK

The House will reconvene on Monday, December 19 at 1:00 PM. 

The Senate is not scheduled to return to voting session until after January 1.

The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee will discuss and release a report on Community and Technical College Programs and Rural Communities conducted pursuant to Senate Resolution 147 on Wednesday, December 14 at 10:00 AM.

The State Board of Education will meet January 11-12 in Harrisburg.