Wolf vetoes course material bill
Governor calls legislation duplicative
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have required school districts to post information about textbooks, course material and state academic standards online.
The Democratic governor said the legislation “politicizes what is being taught in our schools” and that state regulations already require public schools to provide similar material upon request.
Mr. Wolf calls the vetoed bill’s requirements duplicative and overly burdensome.
“This legislation is a thinly veiled attempt to restrict truthful instruction and censor content reflecting various cultures, identities, and experiences,” Mr. Wolf said in a veto message explaining his action. “My administration is committed to creating a safe learning environment for all students, and we will not take part in this dangerous and harmful imposition.”
The bill would have required links or titles for every textbook and course summaries to be posted on district websites, starting with the next academic year, and that they be updated regularly.
The parties in both chambers were split nearly along party lines in votes on the measure, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposed.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin County, said many schools already do this so his bill intended to standardize this practice across all school districts, charter schools, intermediate units and career and technical schools. Private and parochial schools would have been exempt from the bill.
In a statement in response to the governor’s veto, Mr. Lewis said, “It is infuriating that the governor wants to maintain the status quo and have parents jump through hoops to access information about their own children’s education.”
He went on to say, “This governor’s veto is without any logical justification, which, sadly, does not surprise me. This was a necessary and reasonable bill to provide transparency in the educational process.”
Supporters of the bill noted the information required to be posted should be readily accessible to parents.
Critics, however, argued that this was an unfunded, unnecessary mandate on schools.