PA Senate Education — 2026-04-20

I call to order this meeting of the Senate Education Committee in order to establish a quorum. Cindy, will you please call the roll?

Here.

Senator Coleman?

Here.

Here.

Senator Carney?

Here.

Here.

Senator Mastriano?

Proxy.

Here.

Senator Anthony Williams?

Here.

Here.

Senator Kim Ward?

Proxy.

Here.

We have a quorum. With a quorum established, I call up Senate Bill 250, sponsored by Senator Dush. Senator Coleman moves the bill, seconded by Senator Argo. Senator Dush, is he in? There he is. Would you please provide a description of your bill?

thereof thank you thank you senator dash is there any discussion on the bill Senator Williams?

No, thank you. Thank you. Is there any further discussion on the bill? Seeing no further discussion, Cindy, please call the roll on Senate Bill 250.

Aye.

Aye.

No.

No.

Aye.

Aye.

No.

No.

Proxy aye.

Aye.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and again, thank you to the committee. with respect to this bill it also is the preamble for a constitution that being the constitution of the united states we the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect union establish justice ensure domestic tranquility provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The foundational law, all other arguments notwithstanding, the foundational law for our federal government and our state government are our constitutions. and the function of government is described there. It is important for us to take the time and understand the foundations, although some people might disagree with the fact that Exodus 12 is where a lot of our, according to the documents of the founders during the Constitutional Convention, was the most common quoted citation during the Convention. As well, the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, more than Montesquieu, John Locke, Blackstone, any other. the bible was the foundational principle and we need to remember the whole purpose of the pa 250 in the u.s uh america 250 is to remember our founding and we have been the most tolerant nation when it comes to people of other religions and it was the use of the old testament scriptures that actually helped prescribe how we deal with people who come from other cultures and other backgrounds and people who are transient through our communities. The tolerance that comes through those passages was something that has been reflected in the laws of the United States. Every time that we've failed in that situation, America has found a way to right itself. but it has done so under the U.S. and the state's constitutions. So like my previous legislation, Senate Bill 250, it also includes language which enabled the federal preamble to take the form of artwork from a student contest that can be prominently and proudly displayed in each school building if and when they choose to do so. These bills don't require it. They're just an option. for the schools to be able to post these and the local communities have the ability to make the decision as to whether or not they want to do this not coincidentally the preamble the republic's constitution like the preamble of our state constitution was ratified first it begins with we the people and it was ratified by the states and was ratified by the people of this commonwealth and the united states My hope is that displaying the U Constitution preamble in schools will move our students into a deeper understanding of our Constitution, to research the founding principles, and to bring about an understanding of how we got our laws, and from knowing our history and knowing from which, from once these constitutions, these frames of government have come, that it would inform the students, regardless of any religious background, regardless of any cultural background, that it would inform them and help them to understand the unique nature of the United States. I've had the pleasure of serving and being in many nations in the Northern Hemisphere. and we do have a unique form of government and the longest-lasting constitution in the world's history. So, again, I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak on this and would ask for a yes vote.

I guess this is going to be our afternoon, my friend. and for those who don't know we have tremendous respect for one another and enjoy each other's company but there is certainly a benefit to reflecting upon history the unique thing about the Constitution it's been amended a lot and for good reason who we were when we first came here are not who we are as a nation today by any stretch of the imagination Our founding fathers, as everybody described them, we didn't have founding mothers. We had founding fathers. Today, that would not withstand scrutiny nor public tolerance. We would have to have everyone at the table. And frankly, those who would reimagine the past for what it wasn't, reimagine it before the fact that they would acknowledge there are a whole bunch of sins that this country had that was a part of that history. unfortunately there are those who want to tell their history as if it was something different than what it is and some of our young people are being affected by that and some of the conversations which are had are not tolerant and i would suggest to you in our conversations that's not the case even though people would you know ballyhoo about your legislation and things in a way that i wouldn't necessarily be very clear it's not how tony or chris look at the world It's not even how we operate in civilized society. It's how our political structure operates. And frankly, it's being divided significantly on restoring a history that never was, a perfect union that never was, acknowledging that there was a civil war for a reason because our initial values required us to have an argument that was very bloody. and so while I respect the founding fathers and what they created and the possibilities I don't want to be stuck in that moment any more than my father who birthed me and my mom who birthed me would want me to be them they want me to be better than them they want me to go farther than they do and so if people want to take the constitution and do the history research that That's wonderful. I don't think they should be painting murals to suggest a perfect picture is what this country is about or was about. It's about the evolution of all of us. And unfortunately, I think, you know, the trapdoor in that conversation to return to the history is full of what we see today in the newspapers. Some purified, sanitized version of what the past was not. and uplifting of a society that would exclude certain people and deny others. And so with all due respect to what your intent is, which I think is worthy, because I do believe that there's a generation that doesn't understand what patriotism really is and that the foxholes of World War II, World War I, Vietnam, and a variety of other wars were fought with a certain level of dignity that we don't respect today. And so I understand that. You know, I honor my parents and my grandparents for fighting in those wars because I wouldn't be here today. But I do understand that as we currently are operating in this country, it's a very, very, very slippery slope to not even returning to the past, but creating something that wasn't even resemblance of that. So for those reasons, my friend, I have to be in opposition to your bill.

Senator Argel?

Aye. Senator Coleman?

Aye. Senator Commita?

No. Senator Carney?

No. Senator Kiefer?

Aye. Senator Mastriano?

Proxy, aye. Senator Rothman?

Aye. Senator Anthony Williams?

Senator Lindsey Williams?

No. Senator Kim Ward?

Proxy, aye. Senator Culver?

Aye.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Senate Bill 698 updates the public school code by requiring school districts to determine and document the fair market value of any real estate they intend to purchase. I'll be offering an amendment to extend this requirement to charter and cyber charter schools, ensuring that all public schools are covered. The amendment will also require the value of the property to be established by a certified appraiser. Under the proposed changes, any public school seeking to acquire property must verify that the purchase price does not exceed the property's appraised value. This is not a new concept. Senate Bill 698 simply ensures that schools follow the same standard already applied elsewhere. All documents used to determine fair market value, including appraisals, must be made accessible to the public under the Commonwealth's right to know law. I would ask for an affirmative vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As mentioned, the amendment expands the legislation to include charter and cyber schools. It also removes the $10,000 minimum since virtually no real estate purchase today would fall below that amount. This change streamlines the process and ensures that the property's value is always determined through formal appraisal. The requirement that appraisals be conducted by a certified appraiser is based on language from the second-class township code and prevents public schools from paying more than appraised value when acquiring the property. Thank you.

Thank you, Chair Culver and Chair Williams and the rest of the members of the Education Committee for your consideration of my legislation, the Save Women's Sports Act. I would first like to thank my female Senate Republican colleagues who joined me in this effort as co-prime sponsors, Senators Senator Phillips Hill, Senator Kim Ward, Senators Baker, Brooks, Barlotta, Penny Cook, Brown, Culver, and Kiefer. I thank you all. Senate Bill 1293 will ensure that our young women across this Commonwealth have a fair chance to compete in the sports they love and provide a fair playing field for them to do so. Under this legislation, school athletic teams in public institutions designated for women may not be open to those of the male sex. The legislation defines sex as a person's immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define the individual as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth. Let me be crystal clear. This is about biological sex. This has nothing to do with someone's gender identity. Sports have never been separated based on gender identity. Rather, it has been separated by biological sex, and this legislation ensures that this remains true in the future. And there is significant proof that for separation, men have distinct and meaningful physical advantages over women that translate to advantages in sport. Things like increased heart and lung and organ size, greater bone density, more skeletal mechanical advantages, and higher testosterone among the many physical advantages that male puberty and development bestow. Recently, the International Olympic Committee published new policy on the protection of the female category in Olympic sport, limiting their female category to biological females only. They stated that this policy is evidence-based and expert-informed, which protects fairness, safety, and integrity in the female category. Sports governing bodies continue to show that male and female categories should be separated Unfortunately Pennsylvania still falls short in providing young women safety and opportunity on their playing field Because of this, we have separated sports to give women equal access to compete. Over the past half century, we have fought to protect the athletic opportunities for female students, and now these opportunities are in jeopardy. It's essential to protect the opportunities for our female athletes that the athletic field provides. Maintaining separate biological specific teams will protect opportunities for women athletes while fulfilling the goals of Title IX. Title IX was designed to end discrimination and create equal athletic opportunities for women. allowing biological males to compete in women's sports threatens to undo the progress we've witnessed since the enactment of Title IX. Athletic competitions give women the opportunity to demonstrate strength and skill while also providing opportunities for recognition ranging from accolades to college scholarships. These opportunities can be life-changing and women deserve the chance to fairly compete for them. I ask for your support in standing up for biological women everywhere, young and old, who compete in sports in pursuit of their dreams. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman Culver, Chairwoman Williams, and members of the committee. I'm very proud to join my good friend and colleague, the gentlelady from Blair County, Senator Judy Ward, along with approximately 80 percent of the American public in support of Senate Bill 1293. The Senate has already acted on this issue, and we did so in a bipartisan fashion, and that matters because this issue is about fairness. When we talked about this bill before, I said Title IX is under attack, and that reality hasn't changed. We have seen biological men compete against women at the highest levels, both here in Pennsylvania and all across our nation. And at the same time, we have seen how federal mandates, they come and they go. Administrations change, guidance shifts, Priorities move, but law, law lasts. Law is what provides clarity and, importantly, consistency. And that is why Senate Bill 1293 matters. Title IX was a promise. It was a promise to our daughters and a promise to our granddaughters, a promise of equal opportunity in education and athletics. women before us they fought for that opportunity and Senate bill 1293 it keeps that promise of title nine alive not just today not just next year but every year after that and for the next generation of girls who want to compete fairly because fairness should not depend on who is in Washington, D.C., or as my colleague just explained, who is at the International Olympic Committee, it should be something guaranteed right here in Pennsylvania. I'm here in part because I was on a team sport. I swam through high school, and I had a fair fight to earn a spot on that roster. I had a fair fight to climb to the top of that podium when my time in the pool was the fastest, and I had a fair fight to compete and earn athletic scholarships. And that's what we are here to preserve today. Those opportunities and those skill sets. Athletics, they build confidence, leadership, and resilience. In fact, 93% of female CEOs played competitive sports at some point in their lives. These opportunities matter. And here we are again today, preserving those opportunities for the next generation of female leaders in our Commonwealth. Now is the time to make sure that the promise of fairness and opportunity are cemented in Pennsylvania law. Whether you are an Olympian or a high school female athlete in Pennsylvania, every female athlete deserves fairness and that is why we need Senate Bill 1293 again thank you Senator Culver Senator Williams members of the committee for

Thank you. So let's put aside the debate over biology, et cetera. I have just some functional questions. And by the way, I wholeheartedly disagree with my colleague about women and men competing. Have you watched the WNBA today? I would never play any of those women in any sport where most college guys would lose. I'm just telling you that for a fact. That being said, the question is about jurisdiction for me. Title IX was a long fought right, bounced by the courts, ultimately. NCAA and the Pennsylvania, whatever the heck that we do, PIA, have, in my understanding, jurisdictional consideration when it comes to these amateur sports in the space that we're talking about. Where and how do we consider ourselves to be elevated above and beyond that, respecting the fact that you're saying it's the law, which, frankly, can change just like policy can change at any given time. So the question for me is, why is it that we're not having or following the direction of those entities in this conversation? I think it just needs to be cemented. It needs to be the law in Pennsylvania. So there are no questions. There are no other policies. it's what the legislation states. But doesn't that contradict the fact that we've given jurisdiction to those entities to regulate amateur sports? I mean, I don't see how we can avoid going to court if in fact we pass this as a law when we've created these other entities to give direction to Penn State, to Temple, to whomever, about how to run their programs. And in fact, when they break the law as it's written by, suppose NCAA and PIAA, which they haven't, decide to go in a totally different direction in this conversation, who are those schools supposed to follow? How do they not contradict or frankly break the law or break the policy in one or other areas? If I may, Senator Ward, with all due respect to the good gentleman from Philadelphia, things change dramatically with one signature on an executive order. And the policies, procedures of these governing bodies changed as a result of an executive order that has the effect of law. And I've said that with regard to executive orders at both the state and federal level. People leave office. We won't be here forever. laws are more permanent than just a signature on an executive order upholding the promise of title nine deserves to be protected in law and that's why we are pursuing senate bill 1293 thank you chairwoman i get that but again i still go back to the question because again law can be changed the question is how does sanctioning piaa ncaa how does one not violate that institution's policies by following the law that may be contradictory to that policy? I get the permanency. I get all those arguments. I get the fighting for Title IX. I get all that. But we're setting up a situation that the agency which we've empowered can be in contradiction to the law we pass. And so I'm asking a very direct question. How are we preventing that from occurring, and aren't we creating a moment where that actually can occur, that the policy of the organization that we have sanctioned may be contrary to the law? Madam Chairwoman, I believe that the question has been answered, and currently the law is the result of an executive order. What this does is permanently codify that executive order in Pennsylvania law to protect the intent of Title IX at the state level. It cannot be as easily overturned as a signature on a piece of paper. The legislative process is deliberative. It takes time, and it is more permanent than an executive order. That's why it is so important that we permanently codify this into law. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to thank the makers of this bill. In my situation, it's hard not to think of my own daughter and think of the challenges that my daughter will face as she grows into being a young woman and a woman and lives her life and the challenges that she will face. and I'm proud as a father today to be able to defend my daughter and give her one less obstacle that she has to jump over. And I encourage other fathers to defend their daughters, and if they can vote on this bill, I encourage them to vote on this bill. And if they living in the community and they believe in this they should also support this and tell their legislators that they support this This is about defending the orders This is about making sure that they have an equal playing field And so I really, again, thank you very much, and I encourage an affirmative vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to both of you, the makers of the bill. I really appreciate this. It's unfortunate that we haven't been able to get this passed sooner. It's fairness. It's opportunity. I have been a beneficiary of Title IX, right? And I can tell stories about, you know, playing field hockey in essentially a cornfield because, you know, our field was overtaken by the football team when it was muddy or wet or whatever the case may be, right? We've come so far. We don't have those stories anymore. But now this is a direct assault to all of that, to all of the hard work, all of the strides that we have made over these decades to tell our young girls, just go work harder. Stop whining. Just get on there. And this is biology. It's not sociology, right? Our girls, my future granddaughters, my nieces, they deserve better. They deserve our protection. And so when we're talking about other agencies, you know, we've empowered them. We empower agencies every day here. We change the rules for agencies every day here. They get their authority from us in the first place. So certainly this is a human issue, first and foremost, to protect our daughters and say, okay, this is how it's going to operate. If sex doesn't matter, then why do we even have sex-segregated sports in the first place? Because it does matter. It does matter. And for my daughter, this wouldn't have been, oh, you're jeopardizing her scholarship or her chance to advance. you would be jeopardizing her opportunity to play on the team. There's no way she would ever be able to compete with males. It was challenging for her to compete with the best players already. This is about opportunity, and we know what the benefits are for our young women to participate in sports and the leadership that invokes and the teamwork and everything that comes with it. This is just robbing them right now of those opportunities. opportunities, and they deserve to know with firm clarity that those opportunities are not in jeopardy, right? You don't have the reverse of this scenario here, right? It is only one way. It is attacking the opportunities of women, and we need to protect those. So thank you both,

this bill is cruel and it's the seventh time that we are running it it's the second time we're considering it this session with identical language just reintroduced with a different bill number it's grasping at straws so since we're doing this again i'm going to share some of what i've said before. I was a three-sport athlete in high school, cross-country, swimming, and track and field. Participating in sports gave me the confidence, time management skills, and ability to work collaboratively that led me to run for office eventually. Absolutely nothing, nothing about having a trans teammate or competitor would have taken those things away from me. So I want girls watching to know that you are strong in so many ways, even when adults try to tell you that you are not. I want you to know that you deserve to be exactly who you are, even when adults try to make you feel less than. There are people who love you and love you at your full authentic self. To my colleagues, this bill aims to bully children, children who are already facing ridicule, isolation and fear every single day for just being who they are kids who want nothing more to run around with their teammates to belong to something to feel normal that's what we're talking about taking away today it is cruel right now families in pennsylvania are choosing between affording groceries and filling their gas tank to get to work and we're spending our time voting for the seventh time on a bill to bully children who just want to play soccer with their friends. Bills like this one perpetrate violence against children and violence against those who speak out in support of them. Kids just want to be kids. Unlike some in this building, they are not obsessed with their teammates' genitalia. I want us to stop bullying kids for political gain. Let's do the work we are elected to do to make the lives of everyday Pennsylvanians better because all girls deserve to have the experience that I did playing a sport that they love and thriving into adulthood. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman Williams. I think I've

preserve for them. So seeing no further discussion, Cindy, please call the roll on Senate Bill 1293.

The final bill on today's agenda is Senate Bill 1294, sponsored by Senator Judy Ward. Senator Rothman moves the bill and is seconded by Senator Argel. Senator Ward, please provide a summary of your bill.

Thank you, Senator Warren. Is there any discussion on the bill? Chairwoman Williams? Senator Carney?

I believe it applies to the driver training schools all across the board. They have to meet certain requirements, and it would, you know, we've had, through testimony, we've known about some of the problems that have happened because these drivers aren't trained properly. So this will allow the education department to assist in getting them proper training and shutting down the programs that aren't following the guidelines.

Senator Ward, I can assist. It does. It does. Yes, it applies. to all schools.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I also don't want unlicensed programs operating in Pennsylvania. Unlicensed schools are more likely to take advantage of students and may not operate with the same standards that a school must meet to be licensed by the state. But this bill, as Senator Carney started talking about, This bill doesn't just raise the fine on unlicensed schools. It increases tenfold the penalty on licensed trade schools as well, including for minor things like filing a report late. In Pennsylvania, most of our licensed trade schools are accredited institutions who have been operating in good standing for years. I'm concerned that this bill, which was just introduced on Friday, is moving without those schools, those private licensed schools' involvement, and takes a broad brush to a specific problem that the federal government can and should correct. So I'll be a no today, and I look forward to seeing if that changes.

So, Senator, would you be open to amending the bill as it evolves based upon some of the concerns that members have?

Any other discussion? Senator Ward, any more comments?

Seeing no further discussion, are there any negative votes on the bill? I believe there are. Cindy, can you do a roll call?

Aye.

Aye.

No.

Senator Carney?

Senator Kiefer?

Senator Mastriano?

Senator Rothman?

Senator Anthony Williams?

Senator Lindsay Williams?

Senator Kim Ward?

Thank you. With no further business before the committee, the Senate Education Committee is recessed to the call of the chair.