Voice: November 2018
Thanks in large part to PSEA members’ advocacy, a bill giving high school seniors more options to fulfill graduation requirements may soon become law.
As this issue of Voice went to press, the state House had just approved Senate Bill 1095, and it was under consideration in the Senate. The bill would allow students who do not score proficient on the Keystone exams to demonstrate their readiness to graduate through alternative routes. Gov. Tom Wolf supports the legislation, which was sponsored by Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-Chester/Delaware.
PSEA members have voiced strong support for the new graduation options throughout the legislative process, sending nearly 4,000 emails to lawmakers, and McGarrigle has said passage “would have been impossible without PSEA’s advocacy and support.’’
PSEA Vice President Rich Askey praised McGarrigle, other legislators who supported the bill, and Wolf.
“Standardized tests aren’t the only ways to measure students’ abilities,’’ Askey said. “Students’ academic records reflect outstanding and unique accomplishments that shouldn’t be ignored.’’
The new graduation options would take effect when the delay in using the Keystone exams as graduation requirements expires, which under the bill would take place during the 2021-22 school year.
It comes on the heels of legislation passed by the Legislature last year, and supported by PSEA, to allow career and technical education students to demonstrate their competency to graduate through their grades, alternative assessments, and industry-based certifications.
Visit www.psea.org/gradoptions to learn more about Senate Bill 1095’s proposed new graduation options.
