HARRISBURG, May 5 – Increasing challenges, demands and risks placed on educators are among the issues impacting the educator workforce according to testimony from a House Education Committee informational meeting. “As Pennsylvania continues to take steps to address teacher shortages, it is equally important to understand the issues behind the difficulty for schools to recruit and retain qualified educators in their classrooms,” said Rep. Peter Schweyer, Majority Chair of the House Education Committee. “Today’s discussion brought experts from both educator and school administrator backgrounds to the table to find out where we can provide better legislative support for our schools and more importantly for our students.” Tuesday’s informational meeting focused on the current education environment and issues impacting teachers and educators across Pennsylvania. The informational meeting featured testimony from: Mr. Aaron Chapin, President – Pennsylvania State Education Association Ms. Jill Weller-Reilly, Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow – Central Bucks School District Dr. Ciminy St. Clair, Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow – Norwin Area School District Dr. Sherri Smith, Executive Director – Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators Mr. Brian Pawling, President – Pennsylvania Assoc. of School Business Officials, Director of Business Administration – Radnor Twp. School Read more
On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the House Education Committee convened an informational meeting to discuss educator workforce issues and concerns. Read more
HARRISBURG, May 4 – The Pennsylvania House has passed legislation that would establish a Commission on Children’s Vision to ensure that all students have access to eyeglasses, according to the bill’s prime sponsor, state Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, D-Berks. House Bill 1077 would establish a commission within the Department of Health, made up of the secretaries of Education and Health, along with several healthcare and community representatives, to create a statewide plan to ensure that all students who need follow-up vision examinations have glasses and ensure this comes at little to no cost for the student or their family. “Vision problems can have lifelong impacts, especially on our students,” said Cepeda-Freytiz, who wears glasses herself. “Unaddressed vision problems can cause headaches and a lack of focus in class and can even impact grades. Many students are misidentified as having behavioral issues or are placed on IEPs when all they need are eyeglasses. “The benefits of glasses in the classroom translate to success outside of the classroom. We are working to ensure that our students have access to the resources they need to see a successful future.” The legislation is similar to the Children’s Vision Strike Force launched in Ohio in 2024, which brings together health and education professionals to ensure that students have access to eyeglasses. The bill Read more
Testifiers detailed significant opportunities and challenges for colleges and universities to implement and utilize artificial intelligence technology. The House Education Committee convened an informational meeting to discuss this issue with experts in higher education and technology. Read more
On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, the House Education Committee convened an informational meeting on AI in Higher Education at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Read more
Student safety, privacy and responsibility were the focus of the discussion today with members of the House Education Committee and technology and education experts on the first of two informational meetings to discuss the use of AI in education. Read more
On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the House Education Committee convened an informational meeting to discuss the use of AI in K-12 education. Read more
On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, the House Education Committee convened an informational meeting to discuss Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credits. Read more
We want to ensure all children are getting a quality education through the program, the taxpayers are getting exactly what they are paying for through the program and that the program isn’t just providing tax benefits to corporations. Read more
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 5 – State Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Allegheny, today hosted “Ought to Be a Law,” a competition that encourages civic participation by having Shaler Area High School students submit proposals for state legislation. “Seeing how policy and lawmaking work is a great way for civic engagement to stay with students as they grow older,” Powell said. “I am so proud to see the amazing work of our students as they engage with policymaking, discover the local issues that matter to them, and learn about how government can fix these concerns and work for them.” The competition followed general themes inspired by real legislation in Harrisburg that would impact students, such as delayed school start times , mental health days for students , and anti-discrimination policies. The winning proposed legislation from the event includes: State Infrastructure: Sidewalks and Traffic Control , introduced by Max Post and David Plawski. Skill Classes in High Schools , introduced by Olivia Lourenco. Raising the Minimum Wage , introduced by Joel Searock and Quincy Montgomery. PA Road Visibility and Safety Act , introduced by Addy Applbaum and Jaylynn Jones. Censorship in Curriculum , introduced by Elizabeth Dunlevy and Madelyn Hannan. Summaries of each winning proposal can be found here . Read more
HARRISBURG, Feb. 3 – State Rep. Peter Schweyer, Majority Chair of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee, released the following statement today in support of Governor Shapiro’s budget address: “Today, the Governor told Pennsylvania students and their families that regardless of where they live, they deserve a quality education. By continuing to build on the historic investments in K-12 education that we first started two years ago, the governor’s multi-year plan to bring adequacy, equity and accountability into the school funding system is being fulfilled. “This proposal calls for directing funding to the schools that need it most and includes a $50M increase in Basic Education Funding and a $50M increase in Special Education. These investments will mean children will have more qualified teachers in their classrooms, better access to new technology, safe and comfortable learning environments and improved support for their mental health and wellbeing. “Additionally, the governor is continuing his calls for increasing access to career and technical education, so students wishing to enter career paths in the trades can have an easier opportunity to do so. With $10M for supporting STEM and computer science programs and a $3.5M increase in the PA’s School-to-Work Program which provides registered pre-apprenticeship career pathways. “For students enrolled or are planning to go on to higher education after high Read more
HARRISBURG, Feb. 2 – The Pennsylvania House Education Committee convened an informational meeting today to discuss the most recent academic results, school progress and student success measures from the Future Ready PA Index. “Today, we got to take a closer look at the system which assesses the academic performance of Pennsylvania schools and the latest results on how our children are progressing throughout their education,” said state Rep. Peter Schweyer, Majority Chair of the House Education Committee. “I want to thank all of the testifiers who participated in today’s discussion for providing key insight into student performance and addressing challenges schools continue to face.” The discussion featured testifiers from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators as well as additional perspectives from education advocates. “Since the 2020-21 school year, state assessment proficiency rates in math and science have increased modestly year over year. While we have not reached pre-pandemic levels, these gains are consistent with gains seen by other states. Graduation rates have increased continually and surpassed pre-pandemic levels. English language growth and attainment increased for the second consecutive year. Career readiness remains stable above 91% and regular attendance increased for two consecutive years in Pennsylvania, while decreasing nationally since 2023,” said Read more
On Monday, Feb. 2, the House Education Committee convened an informational meeting to discuss the latest results of the Future Ready PA Index which measures the academic performance of PA schools and the education benchmarks of students. Read more
I look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Education on fair and equitable education funding, ensuring safe and comfortable learning environments for students and teachers and expanding opportunities for career and technical education. Read more
On Monday, Nov. 17, the House Education and Health Committees convened a joint hearing to discuss the issue of cell phones in schools. Read more
The average age of a Pennsylvania public school is over 70 years old, and we need to know what issues need to be addressed so children and teachers can have safe and updated educational spaces. Read more
On Monday, Sept. 22, the House Education Committee convened a public hearing to discuss school facilities and HB 1701. Read more
Late last month, Schweyer also circulated a memo proposing a standardized process for cyber charter schools to conduct wellness checks and establish a “crisis escalation process” for checks that reveal serious concerns. Read more
It is our goal to close loopholes, too often exploited by the purveyors of cyber charter schools that allow some students to fall through the cracks. Read more
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