SB 880 - Bill to Delay Keystone Graduation Requirement

• Update: SB 880 would delay the Keystone Graduation requirement until the class of 2019 

• Action Item: contact Senator Corman to get this bill to the floor for a full vote, contact information and sample letter below.

Jim Scanlon, WCASD Superintendent, sent this Keystone Exam Update on Tuesday June 9, 2015 (bold emphasis is mine): 

Senate Bill 880 passed very quickly out of the Senate Education Committee this morning with a unanimous vote from all committee members, including Senators Pileggi, Dinniman, Folmer, Scarnatti, Eichelberger, Leach, Teplitz, and Williams. Sen. Lloyd Smucker was convinced by all the letters and phone calls he received about Keystone Exams to put a bill in that would delay implementation for two years so a new assessment system can be worked out.

He introduced the bill on Friday, it got voted out of committee unanimously today (6/9/15) and is on to the full senate for a vote.  SB 880 would delay implementation of Keystone Exams as a graduation requirement until the graduating class of 2019 (current 8th grade class), effective immediately. There is similar language being written in the House of Representatives Omnibus Bill.    

Jake Corman is the Senate Majority Leader and has complete control over what gets voted on. He has been in favor of Keystone Exams and could hold things up. I will be calling his office later this week to ask for his support to bring this to a senate floor vote. If he supports it we can write letters thanking him and others for supporting it. If he holds it up, we will need to focus efforts to write and call his office.    

I believe it is critically important to pass this legislation ASAP because this Friday we are scheduled to send information to parents about summer Keystone remediation and summer opportunities to take the exams again. If this bill becomes law, it will save money, time and emotional drain on students this summer.   The bill needs to pass the Senate, then go to the House for a vote. If it passes the House, the governor will most likely sign the bill into law. 

-Jim Scanlon, Superintendent WCASD

ACTION REQUESTED:  
Please write to Senator Corman and urge him to support SB 880 and bring this bill to a senate floor vote.  Senator Corman does not get emails, we need to use the form on his website to contact him.  Please go HERE to contact Senator Corman.  

Sample letter (it would be valuable to include your school district and/or county and to share with them how the Keystone graduation requirement is impacting your child in just 1-2 sentences):

______________________________________________________________________________

Dear Senator Corman,  

I am a parent in _____________ school district, in ___________ county.  I urge you to support SB 880 which delays the use of the Keystone exams as a graduation requirement until the class of 2019.

The Keystone exam graduation requirement is an unfunded mandate that deters from instructional time and student advancement.  SB 880 is urgent – this unfunded and burdensome graduation mandate is creating havoc in every Pennsylvania school district. 

Sincerely,
Your Name

______________________________________________________________________________

Another sample letter thanks to parent Andy S., feel free to use and share:

Please support Senate Bill 880, this would delay the Keystone graduation requirement for two years while our state decides the best direction for our education and graduation requirements. I am especially supportive of this because of the grave injustice this imposes on students from poorer school districts. Several wealthy school districts I am aware of are already able to offer the PBA for students who do not test well. However, other school districts can afford neither the remediation to help their students pass the Keystone exam nor the PBA's.

I ask you, "Is it fair that your ability to graduate and move forward with your life depends on what school district you were born into?"

Please do everything in your power to help the kids who are not able to help themselves. Support Senate Bill 880 and buy some time while our education committee figures out the best way to proceed.
I ask you, "Is it fair that your ability to graduate and move forward with your life depends on what school district you were born into?"

Please do everything in your power to help the kids who are not able to help themselves. Support Senate Bill 880 and buy some time while our education committee figures out the best way to proceed.

This is the letter I wrote, feel free to use this information in your letter:

I am a parent in _________________ school district in _______________ county.  I urge you to support SB 880 which delays the use of the Keystone exams as a graduation requirement.  SB 880 is urgent – this unfunded and burdensome graduation mandate is creating havoc in every Pennsylvania school district. 

I have reviewed all 3 Keystone exams.  They are confusing, ambiguous and tricky with multiple plausible answers and teachers need to change instruction to accommodate the different methods covered in the tests due to scoring.  The test design is not assessing knowledge or achievement in an educationally valuable way.  It also concerns me that according to DRC and the PDE, the only pre-requisite for people who score the open-ended sections of Keystone exams is that they have proof of a college degree.  They are not required to have an educational background or experience in the subject they are grading.

The Keystone Graduation requirement is costing my school district over $250,000 this year for remediation and that cost is expected to significantly increase next year due to the class of 2017 taking the Biology and Literature Keystone exams this May.  I am concerned that there is no exemption to the graduation requirement for students who are admitted to college early or for students who have earned an NCAA scholarship.