Argall touts Senate bill aimed at providing low-income students with ability to choose school

Sep. 17—Parents shared their hopes for more educational opportunities for their children during a Sept. 11 public hearing of the Senate Education Committee, according to Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Twp., who chairs the committee.

Senate Bill 757, approved by a 28-19 Senate vote on Aug. 30, would establish the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success program, which would provide low-income students in low-performing schools with scholarships to attend the schools of their choice.

"How long do we expect students and parents to wait to see improvements from some of our lowest performing public schools?" Argall was quoted in the news release. "We heard today about the reality that faces too many of our children — being trapped in an inadequate school that continues to let them down year after year."

State Sen. Anthony Williams, D-8, Philadelphia, who was part of the public hearing and was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of the bill, said he believes the PASS program will positively impact students and families.

"The reality is this — many students do not have the option to wait for their situation to improve. They need help now. And it's our job to offer that help," Williams said, according to the release.

Many Democrats oppose the proposal, arguing that the approach weakens public schools by diverting funding and undermines the goal of creating a system that can serve all students.

Two of the organizations that successfully sued over the way Pennsylvania's education system is funded have publicly maintained that any overhaul that includes vouchers would not pass constitutional muster.

"Funding private schools will not move the commonwealth a single dollar closer to its constitutional mandate, because that mandate is clear: The General Assembly must support and maintain a contemporary, effective public education system that is available to every child in the Commonwealth, regardless of their school district's local wealth," the Education Law Center and Public Interest Law Center wrote in a joint memo addressed to "interested parties," according to a Spotlight PA story in June.

Last week, Argall said his committee heard testimony from three parents who live in Philadelphia. Amanda Golden-Mcleod shared her experience with bullying and education loss in public school; Daniel Prescott, who told how he works to give his son a chance for a quality education to overcome an unreasonable schedule and an unsafe commute to public school; and Sylania Jenkins, whose son suffered from anxiety and depression in his previous educational environment and is succeeding at a new school, but how she struggles to pay tuition.

According to Argall's news release, Besie Katz, the head of school at the Politz Hebrew Academy, shared her perspective on how the PASS program would help her students, noting that, "A program that does not harm our public schools, helps other educational institutions keep their doors open, and most importantly helps children is certainly one that we should continue talking about."

Funding for the PASS program, according to the release, would be included in the state budget passed by the Senate, which includes a $567 million increase in basic education funding.

David Hardy, the president of Girard College, also testified about the impact the PASS program could have on children in Philadelphia.

The School District of Philadelphia was also invited to attend but declined. It provided written testimony, which can be viewed on the Education Committee's website.

"We saw today (Sept. 11) that there is strong bipartisan support for giving this chance to families," Argall said. "I hope to see the House return to session soon — our children can't afford to wait."