Elected official
School Board · District 7
School Board
Since 2009, Pittsburgh Public Schools has let parents excuse children from lessons that conflict with religious beliefs. In April, the board voted 6-2 to add sincerely held moral beliefs. Requests now need a specific written reason, and families get at least three weeks' notice of possibly controversial lessons. But a director who voted no worried the notice rule could burden teachers.
School Board
Positions in Summer Learn and Earn fill up quickly, a school board member said. Applications are open now, and she urged interested families to apply soon. Students who've enrolled before only need to verify their address and parent income. For help, local librarians have been trained to assist, another board member said.
School Board
Some Pittsburgh Public Schools families may not know their kids are owed services missed in the pandemic. The district says it owes students with disabilities over 600,000 hours, and most haven't received them. This spring, the district plans robocalls to families using under 15% of their hours. This week, the board is set to approve summer programs to provide them.
School Board
A plan to close nine Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings is back on the table. After rejecting it 6-3 in November, the board voted 8-0 on Jan. 28 to reopen discussion. That version would have meant new schools for about 6,000 of the district's 18,000 students. Still, the board president said the vote wasn't an approval, and public meetings are next.