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HB 2880, Statewide Cable Franchising
August 2006

INTRODUCTION
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) would like to thank Chairmen Flick and Preston for convening this hearing and for allowing PSBA to submit written comments regarding House Bill 2880. PSBA does not oppose the intent of this legislation - that is to establish statewide cable franchising. House Bill 2880, however, does not ensure the continuation of the cable services provided to Pennsylvania 's school districts under the agreements negotiated between municipalities and the cable service providers. PSBA recommends that House Bill 2880 be amended to require that the cable services provided to students and others continue without interruption.

EMERGENCY SERVICES
Many of Pennsylvania 's municipal cable franchise agreements include provisions that require the cable companies to provide free services to municipalities, public libraries, non-public schools, and public school districts. School districts have the option of expanding their cable service beyond the complimentary single service outlet that most cable operators provide to school districts. While school districts must pay for the installation and wiring costs of expanding cable coverage throughout school buildings, the initial service is still provided to districts without charge . Examples of such services include, but are not limited to, emergency alert systems, service outlets, installation of service outlets, and basic cable channels. Some cable companies even provide municipalities and school districts with access channels to be used for educational, governmental and public use. These municipal franchise agreements have not only saved taxpayer dollars and provided invaluable emergency alert services to taxpayers, but they also have allowed school districts to enhance their educational courses for students. PSBA believes that any statewide franchise agreement should mirror the municipal agreements already in existence and require cable service providers to offer free services, such as education access channels and cable service outlets, to school districts.

It is imperative that Pennsylvania 's school districts continue to have access to the basic cable service that providers grant to school districts as a requirement of franchise agreements. These agreements promote school, student and staff safety. Through the cable drop, school administrators and teachers have access to televised emergency alerts and notices involving weather and traffic conditions, local crises or emergencies that could threaten the well-being of students and school employees. These complimentary cable services enable school administrators to act in a timely and efficient manner to protect students and inform parents of the district's actions in response to emergencies or extraordinary conditions.

Additionally, school districts benefit from access channels through local cable franchise agreements. Examples of school districts that have educational access channels for their communities include the Great Valley School District , located in Chester County , and the Upper Merion School District and Colonial School District , both located in Montgomery County . These districts utilize educational access channels to report time-sensitive information to parents. Such information includes school closings, delays, and emergency information. While many school districts have emergency information available on their Internet websites, the access channels enable the districts to reach parents much faster than news outlets, radio stations or the Internet. For example, Upper Merion School District 's Viking Channel provided vital communications to parents during an evacuation of the district's middle school following a bomb threat. Parents know that they have instant access to emergency information via these channels. This speeds the transfer of information between the district and parents and decreases the amount of confusion when local emergencies, school closings and/or delays affect school districts and students.

House Bill 2880 provides no continuation for either of these important cost-saving, emergency services after current municipal franchise agreements expire. Further complicating the matter is that House Bill 2880 limits the number of access channels based on the population of municipalities and the hourly use of the channels. School districts must be protected in this legislation, so they can continue to serve their communities and provide communication to parents and residents in a timely and efficient manner.

LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS' EXPERIENCES
Some school districts have taken the benefits of the access channels further into their communities and schools. The access channels have proven to be a valuable learning tool for students. Students in the Colonial, Great Valley , and Upper Merion School Districts are, in effect, their television station's crew. Students run the cameras at school events, participate in public service announcements and interview programs, host news shows and sometimes step into the role as director. CITV has even produced a segment referred to as, Student Shorts , which compiles video of students' projects and presentations throughout the district to air on the access channel. GVTV's morning news program is hosted and produced by students and airs live in Great Valley 's high school each school day and is then replayed on GVTV. These opportunities further the education of students and provide them with an additional knowledge base to take into post-secondary education or future careers.

And while most information and programming aired on CITV is produced by CITV staff and highlights special events and initiatives taking place in the Colonial School District , CITV also airs government programming. Examples of such programming include the Pennsylvania Report hosted by Senator Constance Williams and the Legislative Report with Representative Kate Harper.

According to Kim Newell, Assistant Director of Colonial Instructional Television (CITV) in the Colonial School District in Montgomery County , the real strength of educational access channels is:

"giving residents a glimpse into the classrooms and daily activities of students. Rather than simply reading about improved standardized test scores or the status of the district, relating to No Child Left Behind , cable subscribers have a chance to actually witness students engaged in learning, innovative teaching techniques in action, and the implementation of technology and other tools in classrooms."

Colonial, Great Valley , North Penn and Upper Merion School Districts broadcast school board meetings, school concerts, sporting events and graduation. The educational access channels allow residents, parents and grandparents unable to attend such events to still be a part of the culmination of students' hard work and persistence. The Colonial School District has also produced a number of programs to provide taxpayers with information about the benefits of full-day kindergarten, updates on school building improvements, and diversity initiatives within the district (See attachments A and B for a complete list of CITV's productions in 2005-06 and Great Valley Television's (GVTV) regular programming).

According to school officials, public access channels are expected by communities. Bob Gillmer, North Penn School District Coordinator for Communications/Media, receives complaints from taxpayers of the North Penn School District when the district does not air school board meetings. He often finds that residents attend school board meetings to submit comments after watching a previous meeting on television. His school district's experience illustrates the need for additional provisions in House Bill 2880 to protect school districts' public access channels, and residents that are engaged in their districts' decision-making process.

CONCLUSION
Colonial, Great Valley , North Penn and Upper Merion School Districts are just four examples of school districts that have benefited from certain provisions of local franchise agreements. Estimates by the Broadband Cable Association of Pennsylvania (BCAP), estimates that over 2,200 public and non-public schools in Pennsylvania receive some sort of free cable service in Pennsylvania from cable providers. House Bill 2880 fails to provide adequate protection for school districts in a transition from municipal franchise agreements to a statewide franchise agreement by neglecting to include a provision for school districts to receive complimentary cable services,

PSBA does not believe when accountability for school districts has been emphasized by this General Assembly, school districts' efforts to engage their taxpayers, students, and parents should be overlooked as the House Consumer Affairs Committee considers House Bill 2880. Without a provision to require cable service operators to provide service specifically to school districts, this legislation would force the cost of such programs to fall on school districts and, ultimately, property taxpayers. In light of the enactment of Act 1 of the Special Session and its tax revenue restrictions, PSBA maintains that the General Assembly should not knowingly enact legislation that will put additional financial burdens on districts or force school boards to cut valuable educational and community resources that enhance students' learning experience and provide taxpayers with an accessible window to see the importance of their tax dollars .

 

Attachment A
CITV's Productions for 2005-06

Above and Beyond Update: Full-day Kindergarten, a multi-award-winning half-hour documentary highlighting the success of the full-day kindergarten program after its first year in place - showing kindergarten students demonstrating a better understanding of number concepts, language arts, and social development as a result of the longer school day.

Colonial Conversations: PWHS Library, a half-hour on-location interview program touting the features of the multi-million dollar library overhaul at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School .

A seven-minute video (noted in a national education magazine) that showed the integration of interactive white boards in elementary through high school classrooms - demonstrating how technology is changing the way students learn.

Student-produced public service announcements promoting diversity awareness and the "No Place for Hate" program at the high school - which were used by the Anti-Defamation League to help influence the adoption of "No Place for Hate Day" statewide in May.

Points of Pride, a half-hour program featuring summer facilities upgrades and district improvements - showing taxpayers how the schools are maintained and why the projects are necessary for offering students a comfortable and functional learning environment.

Colonial News Update and Minutes of the Meeting, three-to-five minute monthly news briefs added to longer programming - giving extra value to high school sports and special events by highlighting district success stories, board initiatives, parent involvement and information, facilities upgrades, and other important news.

A half-hour documentary and interview programs related to the "Respect the Difference" diversity initiative in the district. Near the end of the 2004-05 school year, vandals painted hate messages on the high school's tennis courts, prompting the district to create a "Respect the Difference" initiative that integrated diversity education throughout grades K-12. CITV was able to counter negative regional press quickly by announcing the anonymous tip line.

Attachment B
GVTV Regular Programming

Monthly Board Review -- Highlights decisions/actions taken at school board meetings (student hosted).

Bi-weekly news program - Focuses on student and staff achievements, special events, and activities.

Morning news program -- Hosted and produced by students at Great Valley High School on a daily basis during the school year.

Bulletin Board -- Offers information about upcoming events, school closings, and special meetings.

Learning Curves -- A series that highlights educational initiatives in our schools. Such programs have included:

  • Great Valley 's English-as-a-Second Language Program;
  • Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab - Highlights students learning about agriculture science;
  • Kids Voting - Focuses on elementary students learning about the electoral process;
  • Cards for Osteogenesis Imperfecta (a disease known as brittle bone disorder) - A fundraising campaign where first through third grade students design, make, and market notecards for a non-profit organization.
  • The Great Valley Orchestra and Psychedelic Keyboard Summit - Highlights the partnership between high school students and a national performing act;
  • Kiln Firing - Shows Great Valley 's art students using a local art studio's wood-fired kiln to bake their clay sculptures;
  • Pals for Life - Focused on special education students in elementary school practice their reading skills by reading to dogs; and
  • The 4th grade QVC tour -- Students were taught about business and math by visiting the most popular television sales channel in the world.

Safety programs - Includes productions focusing on gun safety, eating disorders, sports injuries, emergency preparation in schools, drug and alcohol prevention and enforcement, and school threats.