State rep. wants students to take classes they want no matter where they live
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A new bill going through Harrisburg is trying to level the playing field for education.
It would allow students who don't have access to a class at their school to take the class through a statewide online catalog.
House Bill 1330 is the idea of Representative Jason Ortitay (R-46th), who represents parts of Washington and Allegheny counties. He said students would take the class during their school day online.
"Students love going to school when they can find an interest," Rep. Ortitay said.
He said it should help students in smaller and rural districts.
"We want every kid to have access to the same classes that every other student has," he told KDKA on Wednesday.
The bill passed the state House and is in the state Senate's Education Committee. State Senator Lindsey Williams (D-38th), of Allegheny County, is the minority chair. She said the idea is good, but she has a couple of concerns.
"Something like this is very technical, even though the goal we can all agree on," she said.
Williams said some districts do an open campus initiative, where they have live, synchronous instruction in classes in other districts.
"That option is available. So, the question is, is this still what we need to expand access to students? If it is, great," Sen. Williams said.
The cost would be about $1.5 to 2.5 million to get started. Then it would be $300,000 to $500,000 to maintain. It would be free to school districts.
"It's like the Wild West out there in terms of companies selling courses or materials to school systems," A+ Schools Executive Director James Fogarty said.
Groups like A+ Schools said this could be a good initiative but would need to be properly vetted. Rep. Ortitay said the Pennsylvania Department of Education would make sure the courses meet its standards.
"When students select these courses, we want to make sure they are actually learning something and not just taking a class for the heck of it," Rep. Ortitay said.
If it passes, the catalog would start with high schools. If the bill moves as Rep. Ortitay hopes, it would start in the 2024-25 school year.
