Pittsburgh, Pa. − August 27, 2018 − Senators Jay Costa, Jr. and Wayne D. Fontana jointly congratulated the Pittsburgh School District on the award of $1.6 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to support school improvement.
“I want to not only congratulate but also thank the Pittsburgh School District for continuing to innovate the way they teach our students,” said Senator Costa. “A high-quality education that prepares students for a 21st century world is one of the most critical responsibilities of the state, and our local districts. Pittsburgh has risen to that challenge time and again, and our entire region is better for it.”
Thirteen schools in the Pittsburgh School District will receive funding in this round of grants. The grants are part of the second year of the System for District and School Improvement project at PDE, and the Pittsburgh School District was also included in the pilot program in its first year.
“This grant award is a testament to the improvements the Pittsburgh School District have implemented and to the ongoing effort to enhance the quality of education for our students and upgrades to school facilities,” said Senator Fontana. “I am proud of the commitment that has been made to further enrich the education of the students and am certain this success will continue.”
In this school year, grant recipients include 101 schools in 16 school districts and four charter schools.
For more information about Pennsylvania’s education policies and programs, please visit the Department of Education’s website at www.education.pa.gov.
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PITTSBURGH, PA − August 14, 2018 − Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. released the following statement regarding the release of the Grand Jury report on abuse in the Catholic Church:
I applaud Attorney General Josh Shapiro for his committed work in creating this grand jury report and ensuring its release. The public has a right to know about alleged abuse in the Catholic Church. Across the state, the Church has been a centerpiece of the community and in so many cases, it has violated the trust we put in it to protect our children and serve as the standard of good morals. As a parent and as a Catholic, I am extremely disappointed at what has been alleged in this report. It has shone a light on disturbing practices of the Church, which must cause this alleged criminal behavior and its coverup to stop. Moving forward, we should all support the victims through the long and difficult healing process.
Allegheny County, Pa – July 30, 2018 – Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced $5 million in grants to school districts that are providing students with fresh fruits and vegetables during the school day; several of the grant awardees are in Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa Jr.’s district in Allegheny County.
“Access to fresh foods and knowledge about nutrition builds a foundation for health that can last a lifetime,” said Senator Costa. “I’m so proud of the schools in our area that are not only taking steps to teach their students about healthy food choices, but providing those healthy options during the school day as well.”
The school districts in the 43rd district that won awards were:
- Allegheny IU 3: $5,161.50
- Penn Hills School District: $69,042
- Pittsburgh School District: $179,265
- Propel Charter School: $62,676.15
- West Mifflin Area School District: $29,803
To qualify for one of these federally funded grants, a school must have a free and reduced meal eligibility of 50 percent or more. Grantees are required to spend a majority of their grant on the purchase of fresh fruit and vegetable and must develop a plan to establish partnerships to reduce other costs; schools are also required to provide nutrition education to students.
The funding is awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) and was first implemented in Pennsylvania in 2004 and expanded to all 50 states in 2008. The program’s goals are to create healthier school environments by providing healthier food choices, expand the variety of fruits and vegetables students experience, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, and positively impact students’ present and future health.
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Wilkinsburg, Pa. − July 17, 2018 − Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. today attended a joint hearing of the Pennsylvania House and Senate Policy Committees regarding police and community relations.
“Improving relations between police departments and the communities they serve is a critically important topic, one that hit very close to home last month with the officer-involved shooting death of Antwon Rose,” said Senator Costa. “We did not arrive at this hearing with the belief that we had all of the answers to the questions our communities have, but I am impressed with the panelists we heard from and they’ve given us a lot to think about as we move forward.”
The Policy Committee Hearing featured testimony from a breadth of experts, including:
- William Slaton, Commander of the Heritage Affairs Section, Equality and Inclusion Office, Pennsylvania State Police
- Coleman McDonough, Allegheny County Police Superintendent
- Ophelia Coleman, Wilkinsburg Chief of Police
- Cyril Wecht, Forensic Pathologist, Attorney and Medical-Legal consultant
- Chad Dion Lassiter, Executive Director, PA Human Relations
- Elizabeth Randol, Legislative Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of PA
- Leon Ford, Writer, Survivor and Advocate
- La’Tasha D. Mayes, Executive Director, New Voices for Reproductive Justice
Senator Costa is currently working on legislation to address several of the issues that were raised today, including improved training and community resources. His bill would:
- Create specialized units to respond to crisis situations, including officer-involved shootings, to provide immediate access to mental health counseling for police and community members;
- Develop a statewide database to permit transparency in the hiring of police officers; the database will include any disciplinary actions, misconduct or discriminatory policing complaints lodged against law enforcement personnel;
- Require MPOETC to develop a uniform policy on the use of force and deadly force by police officers and direct municipalities that lack such policies to adopt and post the MPOETC uniform policy and require annual updates and training for police officers;
- Create a bipartisan legislative caucus on cultural awareness in policing that can study police activities and make recommendations on improving community police relationships;
- Improve Municipal Police Officer Training to include the following:
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- Enhanced classroom and field training on cultural awareness for police recruits and during police training;
- Direct in the training and recertification curriculum, psychological counseling for police officers who may be suffering from PTSD or other similar issues. MPOETC would develop a statewide standard.
