By Ashleigh Costello
EAGnews.org

HARRISBURG, Pa.– As the state’s legislative session nears an end, thousands of parents and students are urging lawmakers to pass a charter school reform bill that has been stalled in the Legislature for more than a year.

Senate Bill 1115 would create The Charter School Entities Board, which would oversee charter school performance, create an independent funding advisory committee, and allow charters to offer new programs, have access to unused facilities, and streamline their staff and boards.

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Another major provision of Senate Bill 1115 would create a “parent trigger” law, which would give parents greater control over public schools that consistently fail to educate their children. Under most existing parent trigger laws, a majority of parents in long-term failing schools would be allowed to replace a significant portion of the staff, convert to a charter school, or both.

On September 24, several hundred students from 10 charter and cyber charter schools gathered on the steps of the state capitol to show their support and plead with lawmakers to take action, reports PennLive.com.

The students held up signs that read, “Ask why Families R Leaving” and chanted “Choice!” in an effort to get their voices heard.

The students were encouraged by supportive lawmakers.

“You’re here not because you want more money, not because you want a better education, but because you have what you want in a better education and you are seeking the opportunity for so many others to have what you are now enjoying in a charter education,” Senate Education Committee Chairman Jeffrey Piccola told the students.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently released results of student test scores for 2011-12, which show declining student performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSAs),  according to Jay Ostrich, a guest columnist for The Mercury and the director of public affairs for the Commonwealth Foundation.

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Statewide, 25 percent of students failed to reach proficiency in math, while nearly 30 percent cannot read at grade level.  Only 60 percent of the state’s 500 school districts made “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP), compared to more than 90 percent last year.

“For their part, the Pennsylvania State Education, the largest teachers union in the state, quickly distanced itself from responsibility, fleeing with a fallacy of underfunding, laying blame squarely at the feet of the governor. This smokescreen clearly ignores common sense and courtesy to the facts,” writes Ostrich.

“With seven states now adopting similar laws that put parental and student interests before those of government unions, it’s time Pennsylvania lawmakers pull the parent trigger,” he writes.