Nov. 12, 2015
HARRISBURG — In a move to prevent nonpublic schools from experiencing a delay or loss of access to workbooks, Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) has co-sponsored legislation to ensure that, in the event of a delay in the enactment of the state’s budget, students in nonpublic schools are not denied access to educational workbooks.
“This protracted state budget impasse has had a tremendous impact on our nearly 274,000 nonpublic school students, many in school for several months without the use of workbooks,” White said. “This delay in access to critical resources unnecessarily penalizes our nonpublic school students.”
White’s legislation would require the Pennsylvania Department of Education, in the event that a budget is not enacted by July 15, to use any unspent funds previously appropriated for nonpublic school textbooks, materials and equipment for purchase of student workbooks.
In the event that these funds are less than $2 million, the Department of Education would be required to use unspent funds from general government operations. Any amount allocated from these funds would be deducted from the total allocation appropriated for nonpublic school textbooks, materials and equipment once a budget has been enacted.
“Because the entire process of ordering and delivering workbooks can take several weeks, it’s critical that we make sure these funds are available for the purchase of materials before the start of the school year,” White said. “We cannot delay the learning process for these students. It is unfair for students in nonpublic schools to be disadvantaged by the lack of educational materials because the state budget has not been enacted in a timely manner.”
Representaive Martina White
170th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
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