Pennsylvania State Education Association

Week of 4-13-2026

Inside this issue

• Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget passes House
• Student PSEA op-ed. illustrates the importance of student teacher stipends
• How will you celebrate May Day?
• Member Benefits spotlight: PSEA Visa Signature card
• PEARL & Center for Professional Learning

While politicians in Washington are undermining and defunding public education, our elected officials in PA are showing they share our values of equitable resources and opportunities for all students. On Tuesday, legislators in the PA House of Representatives passed Gov. Shapiro’s proposed 2026-27 spending plan, a spending plan that makes public education a top priority.

Most importantly, House Bill 2400 continues a multiyear effort to meet a state constitutional obligation to achieve funding adequacy for our most underfunded public schools.

The budget reflects the governor’s remarkably strong commitment to public education and includes an overall increase of nearly $700 million in key funding for public schools, including:

• A $565 million increase for adequacy and tax equity payments
• A $50 million increase through the Basic Education Funding formula
• A $50 million increase through the Special Education Funding formula
• A $14 million increase for career and technical education
• A $14.3 million increase to maintain the universal school breakfast program
• Continued funding for School Facilities and School Safety/Mental Health grants
• Continued investment in community colleges and higher education
• A $5 million increase for student teacher stipends, bringing total funding to $35 million for FY 2026-27

The bill is now before the state Senate. Equally important, PSEA is continuing to advocate for a long-overdue COLA for those educators and support staff who retired before 2001 when Act 9 increased the pension multiplier. Many of these pre-Act 9 retirees are in their 80s now, and they’re struggling to pay their bills amid record-breaking inflation.

A recent op-ed from Gavin Mitsdarfer, a student teacher and PennWest Edinboro education major, puts into sharp relief why Pennsylvania’s Student Teacher Support Program matters.

Mitsdarfer describes working two campus jobs just to cover groceries, gas, and utilities while completing his 15-week, full-time student teaching placement, all while helping support his single mother at home. His story is far from unique. For decades, education majors were expected to go without income during student teaching, a standard that exists nowhere else in higher education.

The $10,000 stipend he’s receiving through the bipartisan Student Teacher Support Program is a game-changer. But demand far exceeds funding. In the last two school years, only 4,199 of 7,793 applicants received stipends. Thousands of aspiring educators were left out.

Fortunately, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal which just passed the House increases program funding from $30 million to $35 million for 2026-27. Applications for next year’s stipends opened this past Thursday. That increase will help many more aspiring educators reach their goals without having to stress about every last penny.

Click here to read the op-ed

As May Day approaches, we take the opportunity to honor the workers who came before us and those whose sacrifices secured the eight-hour workday, safe working conditions, and the right to organize. Their courage is the foundation on which we all stand today as union workers.

Across the commonwealth, May Day plans are being formulated. A little birdie told us that Athens Area EA and ESP members are currently running a food drive until April 30, where a representative at each school building is coordinating food collection. Volunteers will help transport the food items to the elementary school on May 1 for distribution.

This will be followed by an all-hands-on-deck clean-up/spruce-up event at Valley Playland in downtown Athens. Both events only require about 30 minutes of each volunteer’s time, proving these events don’t require much to reinforce themes of union strength and community improvement.

Share your May Day photos and videos with PSEA

Planning a May Day event? Share your May Day event pictures and/or videos with PSEA at the link below!

*Content may be used in PSEA social media, electronic newsletters, and print publications.*

Add your photos and videos here

PSEA has partnered with Commerce Bank to bring members the PSEA Visa Signature credit card offer. With this card, members can earn cash back rewards with every purchase, with no point cap or opt-in required.

• Earn 3 percent cash back on streaming, cable, and ride-sharing services
• Earn 2 percent cash back on gas and restaurants
• Earn 1 percent cash back on all other purchases

Enroll in the toggle feature and add more flexibility to your PSEA Visa Signature credit card. With the toggle feature, you can:

• Choose to Pay Now by a specific category or purchase amount,
• Choose to Pay Later by a specific category or purchase amount or unwind a transaction.

Check it out and get the card that rewards you and supports Pennsylvania educators with every purchase.

PEARL

Visit PEARL today and choose from more than 95 asynchronous courses available for Act 48 credit and Chapter 14 verification.

You can find multiple courses that interest you in any of these tracks: 

• Book Studies
• Educational Equity
• Pedagogy
• Policy
• Pupil Services
• Special Populations
• Technology in Education
• SEL & Wellness

Webinars

• Effective Classroom Management for Today’s Teacher: What Does the Research Tell Us Works?
  • April 28, 7-8:30 p.m.

Book discussions

• See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers (2024 edition)
  
  • April 22, 7-8 p.m.

Postgraduate Credits

Earn postgraduate credits from PennWest University for $70 each!

More than 150 postgraduate credits are available across a wide range of teaching and learning topics.

These postgraduate credits (micro-credentials) can count toward the 24 credits required for a Level II certificate and also may count toward salary advancement.*

For support professionals, these courses may meet Chapter 14 requirements.**

*Check your contract to determine if you can apply standalone postgraduate credits for column movement.
**Seek approval from your employer prior to completing hours to apply toward Chapter 14 requirements.