The Department of Education has been led by Dr. Khalid N. Mumin since early in Governor Shapiro’s Administration. On November 22, Dr. Mumin announced his resignation after nearly two years of service as Secretary of the Department. He officially stepped down on December 6. Angela Fitterer, Executive Deputy Secretary for the Department, is serving as Interim Acting Secretary.
Prior to this, and as in the case in most years, education policy and funding remained a central focus of the legislature and the Administration. In particular, significant adjustments were made in basic education funding, reflecting a commitment to advancing Pennsylvania’s leadership in the education sector.
K-12 Education
Work began early in the year. In January, the Basic Education Funding Commission adopted a report and recommendations to ensure every child receives an adequate and equitable education. The Commission made the following recommendations:
- Reduce the volatility in the basic education funding (BEF) formula by using three-year averages in certain data elements, lessening the concentrated poverty “cliff,” and resetting the base at the FY 2023-2024 distribution level (providing at least a $200 million increase through the updated BEF formula each year);
- Calculate adequacy targets for each school district;
- Reconstitute the next Commission in 2029;
- Invest in school facilities;
- Examine charter school funding;
- Invest in the education workforce;
- Invest in student supports; and
- Consider other important education issues outside the direct scope of the Commission.
Some of these recommendations were adopted in the FY 2024-2025 budget. Most notably, there was a $285 million increase in basic education funding; $225 million for the BEF formula and $60 million for a new fair funding supplement. Additionally, special education funding was increased by $100 million and career and technical education received $30 million.
There were also some changes related to reimbursement for charter schools. The legislature created savings for school districts by updating the cyber charter school tuition rate calculation for special education students. This resulted in school districts being reimbursed $100 million for cyber charter school tuition costs.
A variety of other K-12 education initiatives were funded during the 2024-2025 budget, including:
- $100 million in funding for school facilities and environmental repairs (including $25 million for Solar for Schools program);
- $100 million for school safety and mental health;
- $20 million for student teacher stipends; and
- $3 million for feminine hygiene products.
We saw some K-12 initiatives undertaken outside of the budget this year as well. In April, the Shapiro Administration announced a three-part plan to overhaul the state’s standardized testing system, including: (1) implementing online testing; (2) adopting question types that allow students to use methods they are already familiar with – such as drag and drop, sorting and ranking, and graphic manipulation; and (3) developing a free, optional benchmark assessment tool for schools to help educators better understand whether students are on track to succeed on end-of-year exams.
Then in October, PDE introduced the Pennsylvania Firefly Student Progress Indicator (PA Firefly), a PA-specific tool that will allow educators to assess students’ mastery of material taught in classrooms and covered on end-of-year exams, and intervene earlier to help students who need more help to fully master certain material. PA Firefly is a fully online, computer-adaptive assessment designed to be administered as single-session tests on the same platform as Pennsylvania’s summative assessments. Testing is available throughout the year, beginning in the fall and ending with the spring assessments. Seasonal testing windows will enable educators to track progress and help learners meet milestones throughout the school year.
Higher Education
Policy and funding discussions pertaining to colleges and universities was one of the main topics of this year’s budget talks in June.
HB 897 (Kinkead, D-Allegheny) was signed into law as Act 69 of 2024. Most notably, the bill established the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE), which is tasked with reenvisioning public higher education and increasing access and affordability to higher education. The SBHE will develop a strategic plan, make policy recommendations, create a database for the collection and analysis of postsecondary data, promote the coordination of institutions of higher education, establish a performance-based funding council, assist with assessing fiscal health, and develop recommendations for repurposing and reducing under-utilized facilities. Governor Shapiro appointed members to the Board in early September and they held their first meeting that same month. During the board’s second meeting in late October, they selected Dr. Kate Shaw, Deputy Secretary for Higher Education, as their Executive Director.
The bill also:
- Requires community colleges and PASSHE universities to apply all college level credits to fulfill degree requirements toward parallel baccalaureate degree programs at the other institution;
- Provides student fee transparency by: (1) requiring student fee amounts as well as the purpose and use of the fee to be public; (2) requiring cost of attendance, financial aid, and net cost estimates to be given to prospective students; and (3) requiring graduating students to have access to exit counseling related to assistance with student loans; and
- Awards grants to public institutions of higher education that offer tuition-free dual credit opportunities to high school students.
Potential changes to the funding of Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Temple could be on the horizon with the passage SB 1154 (Aument, R-Lancaster). Act 90 of 2024 established the Performance Based Funding Council under the State Board of Higher Education. The Council is tasked with recommending a process to distribute state funding to these three state-related universities by April 30, 2025. The Act also provides metrics the Council should consider and goals for the recommended distribution, including predictability, transparency, outcomes driven, and student success.
Also, in July, the Grow Pennsylvania Scholarship Grant and the Grow Pennsylvania Merit Scholarship Programs were established in SB 1150 (Martin, R-Lancaster), Act 89 of 2024. The Grow Pennsylvania Scholarship Grant Program, which received $36 million in funding, provides $5,000 scholarship grants to Pennsylvania students who enter into an agreement with PHEAA to satisfy degree requirements of their program and stay to work in Pennsylvania in an in-demand occupation after graduation. The Grow Pennsylvania Merit Scholarship Program, which received $25 million in funding, allows PASSHE to provide eligible out-of-state students in-state tuition in exchange for a commitment to work in Pennsylvania in an in-demand occupation after graduation.
Other higher education funding increases in the budget included:
- $35 million for state-owned universities;
- $15.7 million for community colleges;
- $4 million for PA College of Technology; and
- $2.6 million for Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
Other Legislation
HB 663 (McNeill, D-Lehigh) was signed into law as Act 67 of 2024. The bill specifies that a child may not be disenrolled from a school in a residency dispute until the child’s guardians exhausted or declined to participate in the appeal process provided in the applicable grievance policy.
HB 2185 (Fleming, D-Dauphin) was signed into law as Act 117 of 2024. The bill requires require the Department of Health to develop type 1 diabetes informational materials for parents and guardians, which will be made available by school entities on their websites.
HB 2383 (Solomon, D-Philadelphia) was signed into law as Act 105 of 2024. The bill established the Older Adult Mentor Volunteer Program to provide opportunities for older adults with educational and professional skills and knowledge to mentor students before, during, and after school.
SB 801 (Aument, R-Lancaster) was signed into law as Act 135 of 2024. The bill requires educator preparation program instructions who teach reading and literacy education programs to prospective educators to be trained in interventions based on structured literacy. The bill also requires PDE to develop approved evidence-based reading instruction curricula, structured literacy professional development training, universal reading screeners, and structured literacy intervention approaches. Also, PDE will establish a process for vendors to submit curricula or programs for review.
