Dinniman appointed minority chair of Senate Education Committee

WEST CHESTER >> State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19, announced that he was reappointed to his leadership role as Minority Chair of the Senate Education Committee for the 2019-20 legislative session.

This marks the sixth consecutive session that Dinniman, who holds a doctorate in education, has been appointed to the post.

“The upcoming legislative session will be a pivotal time for education in the Commonwealth,” Dinniman said. “While we’ve already made important progress in ensuring our schools are safer and reining in the role of standardized testing and graduate requirements, there is much more work to done in these areas, not to mention the importance of achieving equitable funding in public education.”

In the fall, the legislature passed Act 158 of 2018, providing alternative pathways to graduation in place of the controversial Keystone Exams and delaying their use until the 2021-2022 school year. In addition, the Senate passed Senate Resolution 322 to study the effectiveness of standardized testing, including the Keystone Exams and SATs, and their use as indicators of student academic achievement, school building performance, and educator effectiveness.

In the new legislative session, Dinniman said he plans to bring those efforts full circle by working to replace the Keystones with the SAT to realize a combination of fiscal and educational benefits.

“The Keystone should be replaced with a test, like the SAT, that many high school students already take, that is aligned with our curriculum, and that federal government will accept for accountability,” he said. “Furthermore, using the SAT in place of the Keystones will open up college scholarship and post-secondary opportunities to thousands of students who may not be able to access them on their own.”

As minority chair of the Senate Education Committee, he will also continue to serve as a member of the state Board of Education, the Pennsylvania State Public School Building Authority, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Facilities Authority and the Education Commission of the States.

In addition to his leadership role, Dinniman will serve on the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Environmental Resources and Energy, Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, and Game and Fisheries Committees.

LUCAS RODGERS - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA In this file photo, state Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19, speaks at a rally for Dan Williams, then a Democratic candidate, and now state representative for the 74th Legislative District, at the New Life in Christ Fellowship church in Coatesville.