Schweyer: House delivers bills to get – and keep – more teachers on the job
Rep. Peter G. Schweyer May 2, 2023 | 4:12 PM
HARRISBURG, May 2 – The state House this week passed three bills which address both teacher shortages and a new tutoring program for students, and they now head to the Senate for consideration, according to state Rep. Peter Schweyer.
“Pennsylvania has been facing a serious teacher shortage problem for many years now as high-caliber teachers are leaving early and districts have been struggling to recruit and retain the same quality teachers,” said Schweyer, D-Lehigh. “I am pleased to see these measures move to the Senate as we are now one step closer in helping to improve the quality of education for our children.”
The House passed the following three bills during this week’s session:
HB 100 – from state Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton: Would amend the Public-School Code to require the State Board of Education to establish a tutoring program for students in grades eleven and twelve to tutor students in lower grades.
HB 141 – from state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh: Would establish the Grow Our Own Educators Program.
HB 688 – from state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks: Would amend the Public-School Code to establish the PA Teacher Pipeline Scholarship Program.
“There are many facets to Pennsylvania’s education crisis and it will require many bills to address them all and bring meaningful solutions for every student and teacher in the commonwealth,” said Schweyer.
Schweyer, who currently serves as Majority Chairman of the House Education Committee, added recent data from the Pew Research Center says the percentage of education graduates has dropped significantly over the past 50 years, from 21 percent of all graduates in 1970-71 to just four percent in 2019-20.