Education News

Pennsylvania Department of Education granted USDA waiver to allow all children to qualify for free meals

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has received waiver approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow schools to provide free meals to all children while the state works to limit the spread of the virus… More

Census awareness initiatives continue despite pandemic

During the last census 10 years ago, some 25,000 children across Pennsylvania weren’t counted. Kari King, CEO and president of Pennsylvania Partnership for Children, said on Monday that the omission of those children from the tally meant the loss of about $44 million in federal funding for the state… More

Pennsylvania schools closed indefinitely because of coronavirus; remote learning plans kicking in

All K-12 Pennsylvania schools will remain closed until further notice because of the coronavirus. Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement Monday extended the school closure he issued last week that went through at least April 6. Pennsylvania schools have been closed since March 16… More

How area schools are planning to instruct thousands of students in the event of long-term coronavirus closures

School districts across the region are creating online lesson plans and sending students home with packets of assignments as they brace for the prospect of the spreading coronavirus causing extended school closures… More

Amid a second wave of the flu, area schools use technology to stop the virus from spreading

Twenty elementary schools across our region have been given smart thermometers to track the flu in real time. The Kinsa FLUency program allows nurses, teachers and families to connect through an app that tracks what illness is circulating in classrooms… More

Here’s what you need to know about School District of Lancaster’s school funding lawsuit against the state

With a trial expected later this year in the landmark school funding lawsuit lodged against the state by School District of Lancaster and others, an attorney with the Philadelphia nonprofit Public Interest Law Center on Tuesday gave an update on the case… More

Philly schools overpaying charters millions of dollars for special-education students, district says

The Philadelphia School District overpays charter schools by millions of dollars because of a state formula that forces artificially high rates for special education services, according to a new analysis by the district… More

PA teachers air ideas, issues with state science education standards, unchanged since 2002

State officials are gathering teacher input as they prepare to update the commonwealth’s science education standards, and teachers had a lot to stay at a Thursday stakeholder session, held at the Monroeville campus of the Community College of Allegheny County… More

Failed Philly cyber charter application highlights weaknesses in state law, observer says

The state Department of Education has issued its first denial in years to a cyber charter school, thwarting a proposal for a new school that aimed to enroll 2,500 Pennsylvania students starting in 2021… More

City school board may endorse bills on charter reform

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board next week could vote to endorse two bills soon to be introduced in Pennsylvania’s legislature that aim to reform the way charter schools in the state are funded… More