EPLC Education Notebook

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

Content in this edition:
PA Statewide Education Costing-out Study - Public Forums
Supreme Court Decision - Penn State Salaries
Correction
Education Finance Symposium
Datebook

The EPLC Education Notebook (current and past editions) also is available by visiting the EPLC website at www.eplc.org/ednotebook.html.




PA STATEWIDE EDUCATION COSTING-OUT STUDY

There are several upcoming opportunities to learn about the statewide education costing-out study released on November 14!

The report on the costing-out study provides important information that should help to inform state-level and community discussions about public education funding in Pennsylvania.

Next week, the PA State Board of Education will begin holding public forums across the state to present the findings of the study. Please plan to attend one of these six informative regional briefings (each forum will begin at 7:00 p.m. and conclude by 9:00 p.m.):

Tuesday, November 27 - Luzerne County
Wyoming Valley West High School Auditorium
150 Wadham Street, Plymouth, PA 18651

Tuesday, November 27 - Delaware County
Upper Darby High School Performing Arts Center
601 North Landsdowne Avenue, Drexel Hill, PA 19026

Wednesday, November 28 - Philadelphia
Benjamin Franklin High School Auditorium
550 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130

Wednesday, November 28 - Lancaster County
Hempfield High School Hackman Auditorium
200 Stanley Avenue, Landisville, PA 17538

Wednesday, December 5 - Clearfield County
DuBois Area High School Auditorium
425 Orient Avenue, DuBois, PA 15801

Thursday, December 6 - Allegheny County
Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 Sullivan-McGuffey Room
475 Waterfront Drive, Homestead, PA 15120




SUPREME COURT DECISION - PENN STATE SALARIES

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled 4-2 on November 20 that the salaries of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and other Penn State officials is public information and rejected an objection from Penn State to a decision by the State Employees' Retirement System to disclose the salaries. The dispute began in 2002 with a request to the Retirement System from a Harrisburg newspaper.




CORRECTION

The November 16 edition of the EPLC Education Notebook incorrectly reported that regulatory changes approved by the PA State Board of Education to Chapter 14 (Special Education) changed the timeline for evaluating students for special education services from 30 school days to 30 calendar days. The correct timeline in the final form regulations is 60 calendar days. The Board altered current regulations to shorten the timeframe for evaluation from 60 school days to 60 calendar days (however, calendar days would not count during a school's summer break).




EPLC EDUCATION FINANCE SYMPOSIUM

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week's Education Finance Symposium. More than one hundred educators, state policymakers, community leaders and advocates met for the annual two-day event. Several of the presentations are now posted at www.eplc.org/financesymposium.html and more will be added as they are made available by presenters.




DATEBOOK

Next Week...


• The House Education Subcommittee on Special Education meets in West Chester on Monday for a public hearing on the transition of special education students.



• EPLC hosts a Pennsylvania Education Policy Forum in Pittsburgh on Thursday.



• The Pennsylvania State Board of Education/ will hold multiple public briefings on the statewide education costing-out study released last week.


For information on these and other upcoming events, see www.eplc.org/calendar.html.




EPLC Education Notebook is published by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). Permission to reprint or electronically redistribute the Notebook in whole or in part is granted provided attribution to EPLC is provided. The Education Policy and Leadership Center is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit organization. The Mission of EPLC is to encourage and support the enactment and implementation of effective state-level education policies in order to improve student learning in grades P-12, increase the effective operation of schools, and enhance educational opportunities for citizens of all ages.