With your Thanksgiving turkey and holiday shopping hopefully now behind you, it’s time to catch up on some of the major developments you may have missed in the lead-up to holiday festivities.

 

While legislators won’t be returning to Harrisburg until mid-December for their last few session days of the year, the end of November brought some significant changes to state law. With the stroke of a pen, the purchasing age for tobacco products was increased, Sunday hunting restrictions were loosened and a new nominee was appointed to lead the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

As the Philadelphia School District plans to commit $500 million towards removing asbestos and other repairs in buildings districtwide, they’ve received promises of additional support from a rapper with connections and a legislator with plans.
 
Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) introduced two spending bills in June to offer emergency funding to school district looking to repair buildings. Recently, he’s mentioned plans to reintroduce Senate Bill 1276 from last session that created a $6 billion fund for renovations, bankrolled by taxes on shale gas production. 

If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

That’s the motto of lawmakers leading a push to alter the way teachers across the state are evaluated, with reports that the seven-year-old system is penalizing teachers in schools that are lower performing or in high poverty areas.

Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Luzerne) plans to introduce soon a bill that would help Pennsylvanians attend community colleges and graduate on time, while also filling job spots across the state in key industries and trades.
 
Pashinski introduced a co-sponsorship memo in April for his plan as an attempt to lessen student debt. Currently Pennsylvania ranks second in the nation, with the average citizen owing over $37,000 for student loans.

Experts and advocates joined legislators in Philadelphia last Thursday to discuss reforming Pennsylvania’s inconsistent standards on sexual education in compulsory schools.  

The House Democratic Policy Committee hearing took place at Thomas Jefferson University’s Center City campus. Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia) hosted in support of his House Bill 1586, which calls for “medically accurate and evidence-based” sex ed, creating guidelines for statewide instruction. Currently such curriculum varies district to district.