Edit-
I forgot to mention that our State Senator John Pippy is a co-sponsor of Senator Orie's legislation. Thanks to Senator Pippy for stepping up on this issue as well.
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I received a message from State Senator Jane Orie yesterday regarding her attempts to curb the PDE's ability to unilaterally implement Keystone Exams. The message provides a great summary of how we got to where we are today and what is happening at the legislative level. Please see the full message below:
Dear Friend:
Thank you for your recent correspondence stating your opposition to the Rendell administration’s graduation competency assessment (“GCA”) scheme as well as conveying your support for Senate Bill 281, which would expressly prohibit any further movement on GCA’s without the express approval of the General Assembly.
In 2008, the State Board of Education included GCA’s as part of its proposed changed to their Academic Standards regulations. Under the proposal, all high school seniors would be required to pass a series of standardized exit exams in order to graduate. After receiving a tremendous flood of criticism against such a plan from citizens, school administrators, and educational experts statewide, the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives passed a moratorium last July through Act 61 of 2008 that expressly forbid any further action on the GCA for one year.
Despite this clear directive to cease any and all activity related to GCA’s, the Department of Education began to solicit bid proposals for the development of these high school exits exams in the fall of 2008. Faced with the Department’s blatant disregard for the Act 61 ban, it became abundantly clear that this matter must be addressed with legislation conclusively banning any further movement on GCA’s. As such, I promptly introduced SB 281 in February.
SB 281 would bar any direct or indirect advancement of the GCA agenda by the Department. More importantly, the legislation would instruct the Pennsylvania Treasury not to expend funding related in any way to graduation standards unless specifically authorized to do so by the General Assembly. The crucial need for SB 281 was once more sharply reiterated when the Department recently executed a $202 million contract for the development of GCA’s. I would also note, that confronted with a projected deficit of over $3 billion, fiscal prudence demands that we not allow limited resources to be expended on new and unproven initiatives like the GCA’s when many other worthy current programs cannot be funded. Put simply, the Department’s actions in plain disregard to the Act 61 prohibition and our economic circumstances compel an immediate legislative response as embodied in SB 281.
Presented with this difficult situation, I am pleased to report that SB 281 overwhelmingly passed the Senate on June 10th with nearly unanimous bipartisan support (48-1). The bill now proceeds to the House and I urge my colleagues to act swiftly and curb any further action or spending towards the GCA initiative. To this end, you are encouraged to contact your own representative and convey your support for SB 281. Should you require any assistance in doing so, please do not hesitate to contact my offices at your convenience.
Once again, thank you for your contacting me and voicing your thoughts about such a significant issue. Your staunch advocacy is also most appreciated on behalf of all Pennsylvania students who could be considerably harmed by the hasty and irresponsible implementation of graduation tests. Please feel free to contact me whenever you have any other state-related concerns.
Sincerely,
JANE C. ORIE
Majority Whip
40th Senatorial District
Thanks to Senator Orie for taking a leadership role on this legislation.
Thanks for reading.
James
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