ELECTION REFORMS AND VOTING RIGHTS
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Senator Lindsey Williams’ Bill to Reduce Barriers to Career and Tech Ed Clears Education Committee
Harrisburg, Pa. − June 9, 2026 − Today, Senator Lindsey M. Williams’ Senate Bill 366 that improves access to Career and Technical Education programs by permitting students to complete their programs prior to twelfth grade...
Senator Lindsey Williams Votes to Approve Student-Focused Performance-Based Funding Measures
Harrisburg, Pa. − June 8, 2026 − Senator Lindsey M. Williams (D-Allegheny) issues this statement following the Performance-Based Funding Council’s vote to approve the inaugural Performance Goals and Student Weights for distributing funding to three Pennsylvania...
Could AI replace teachers? PA Sen. is looking to stop the possibility
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Senator is looking to ensure that students in the Commonwealth have access to human teachers over Artificial Intelligence (AI). “For every aspect of a student’s life, there’s a tech company trying to digitize it for profit,” Sen....
Shaler Area Middle School named 1 of state’s Schools to Watch
It only took a few seconds for Shaler Area Middle School principals and students to accept a banner Friday from Bruce Vosburgh, director of Pennsylvania Schools to Watch, recognizing the school’s accomplishments. But Principal Shannon Howard noted that the time,...
Pirates host Southwestern Pennsylvania Career Signing Day celebration
Prior to their game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, April 29, the Pirates hosted the fourth annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Career Signing Day and Career and Technical Education Celebration in the Left Field Lounge at PNC Park. During the event, 50...
Pennsylvania PBS honors seven Champions of Lifelong Learning
Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania PBS and its seven member stations celebrated public media and seven Champions of Lifelong Learning award winners during “A Beautiful Day in the Capitol” in Harrisburg on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. “This recognition is a reminder that...
Lawmakers Highlight Living Organ Donor Tax Credit Proposal
HARRISBURG – Republican Senator Lynda Schlegel Culver from Columbia, Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, and Snyder Counties joined Democrat Senator Lindsey Williams from Allegheny County, advocates, donors, and transplant recipients at the Capitol on Monday to...
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Consider State Civil Rights Office As Federal Oversight Slows
Pennsylvania lawmakers and state civil rights officials are racing to fill a hole left by the U.S. Department of Education after a wave of layoffs and regional office closures last year. Families in districts like Norwin say federal monitoring of school civil rights...
With less federal oversight, what’s next for civil rights enforcement in Pennsylvania schools?
When Norwin School District, about 40 minutes east of Pittsburgh, signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in September 2024, the district agreed to take several actions to fix what the department called a “racially...
Legislation would boost tech school capacity as enrollment spikes
Jason Lucia took over in late 2020 as administrative director at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Stanton, beginning the school year with 990 students. When the doors opened last fall, that number had shot up about 50% to 1,500. Direct paths to...
Pa. Human Services, Education officials defend increased funding in budget hearings
Additional funding for the state’s neediest schools and the Trump administration’s impacts on human services have dominated the budget hearings for Pennsylvania’s two most expensive agencies. About 80 percent of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $53.3 billion spending proposal...
Families turn to states for civil rights support as Trump dismantles the Education Department
WASHINGTON — In their mostly white school district, Black students routinely heard racial slurs. White classmates hurled insults like "slave," "monkey" or worse. It often went unpunished. Parents made those claims in a 2024 complaint asking the U.S. Education...
PHEAA board votes to keep awarding scholarships after partisan dispute on funding
A partisan divide has emerged on the board of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) over how quickly the agency should be handing out funds from a recently-enacted scholarship program, with potential implications for the upcoming state budget.
Senator Lindsey M. Williams Applauds Senate Confirmation of Education Secretary Carrie Rowe
Harrisburg, Pa. − December 9, 2025 − Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Minority Chair of the Senate Education Committee, issues this statement following the Senate confirmation of the Honorable Carrie Rowe, Ed.D. as Secretary of Education: “I am excited to congratulate...
Senator Williams Joins Penn State Faculty Alliance for Union Election Announcement
Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Rep. Arvind Venkat, and Library Officials Celebrate Public Libraries and State Budget Increase
Pittsburgh, Pa. − December 9, 2025 − Senator Lindsey M. Williams (D-Allegheny) Representative Arvind Venkat (D-30), representatives from the Allegheny County Library Association, and Board Members and staff from the Northland Library gathered on Friday to...
Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Minority Chair of Senate Education Committee, Denounces Trump Administration’s Continued Attempts to Destroy Public Education
Pittsburgh, Pa. − November 19, 2025 − Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Minority Chair of the Senate Education Committee, issues this statement in response to yesterday’s announcement of the Trump Administration’s aggressive steps toward further dismantling the...
Senator Williams Advocates for Fully Funding Higher Ed
Senator Lindsey M. Williams Announces Legislation to Protect Students; Enforce Federal Education Laws
Harrisburg, Pa. − October 21, 2025 − Today, Senator Lindsey M. Williams (D-Allegheny), Minority Chair of the Senate Education Committee, announced that she will introduce legislation to create an Office of Civil Rights within the Pennsylvania Department of...
Senator Costa and Senator Williams Named Pennsylvania Library Association 2025 Elected Officials of the Year
Pittsburgh, PA — September 30, 2025 — In 2024, the Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA) and their 46 member libraries approached the 26 representatives and state senators who represent Allegheny County with a funding request for a project entitled “Providing...