PSEA president thanks governor for signing bill protecting students, providing greater clarity to schools and employees

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HARRISBURG, PA (March 27, 2020) – Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, thanked Gov. Tom Wolf today for signing legislation that provides direction to schools impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.

“Teachers across Pennsylvania are doing their best to provide remote instruction and enrichment to their students, while support staff are cleaning and maintaining school buildings, preparing for new kinds of instruction, and making sure students get breakfast and lunch every day,” Askey said. “This bill will help educators and support staff do their jobs effectively to the benefit of Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million students.”

The legislation does the following:

• Waives instructional day requirements for all public and private schools, career and technical education programs, and prekindergarten programs, as well as student teacher hour requirements, during the 2019-20 school year;
• Allows the secretary of education to increase the number of flexible instructional days;
• Requires the Department of Education to apply for a federal waiver from PSSA and Keystone Exam testing in 2020, and authorizes the secretary of education to waive exams for career and technical education students;
• Protects school staff responsible for cleaning school buildings by ensuring that they are provided with the proper supplies and protective gear to conduct deep cleanings; and
• Ensures that mostschool employees continue to be paid while schools are closed because of the COVID-19 response and that employees are given the same retirement credit as they would in a normal school year.

The COVID-19 response legislation was voted in both the House and Senate Wednesday. The provisions were amended into Senate Bill 751, which also makes important changes to reform Pennsylvania’s educator evaluation system.

Askey is a Harrisburg music teacher and the president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 180,000 active and retired educators and school employees, student teachers, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.