Category: Pennsylvania

Advocates in Pennsylvania Want More Taxpayer Money to Educate Illegal Immigrant & Refugee Students

Chris Alto
Education Law Center sues Phila

Philadelphia-based Education Law Center told the city’s School Reform Commission that immigrant students and English Language Learner students (EL), need expanded programming, “improved cultural competency” for teachers, more support for the parents of these students and greater access to vocational training programs.  According to the Law Center, test results show that this group of students are failing to progress in their education: Test results indicate that immigrant students and ELs are among the most educationally at-risk of all student groups. For instance, 44 percent of EL students scored below basic in 2015-16 in standardized math and reading tests, while only 19 percent of non-EL students were in that category. The Law Center advocates statewide “fighting for fair school funding” and “equal access” to education services and programs. In 2016, the ELC with help from the ACLU of Pennsylvania and lawyers from a high-priced private law firm, sued the Lancaster School District on behalf of six high school- age refugee students, objecting to their placement at the privately run Phoenix School. Officials with the school district cited Phoenix School’s “special acceleration program”as the reason the refugee students were placed there instead of the district’s regular high school: A special ‘acceleration program’ at…

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Sloppy Bookkeeping, Significant Financial Abuse in Philadelphia, Key City in Battleground State of Pennsylvania?

John Bryant
Rebecca Rhynhart

With  Pennsylvania shaping up as a key battleground state in 2018 and 2020, as well, financial disarray and the significant potential for fraud and abuse in one of it’s major cities could give Republicans something to target in the Fall. Philadelphia’s government has the worst accounting practices among the nation’s 10 largest cities, with $924 million in bookkeeping errors alone last year, according to an audit released Tuesday by City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart. That’s on top of the now-infamous missing $33 million, the discrepancy between what the city’s records say it has and what is in the bank — the result of a failure to reconcile the city’s cash account over several years, Rhynhart said at a news conference. In total, the controller’s auditors found two “material weaknesses” and eight “significant deficiencies” in the fiscal 2017 books. The accounting terms refer to serious issues with the city’s internal financial controls. “This is a major problem and needs to be treated that way by the mayor and the finance director on down,” Rhynhart told the Inquirer and Daily News. “If the City of Philadelphia is talking about tax increases, let’s get our house in order.” By comparison, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,…

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GOP Senate Nominee in PA Blasts Democrat Bob Casey Over Celebration of Philadelphia’s Sanctuary City Status

John Bryant
Lou Barletta, Bob Casey

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), who is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania blasted both the mayor of Philadelphia and his own opponent, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), over a viral video of the mayor dancing as Philadelphia joined the ranks of sanctuary cities which give safe harbor to illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records, thanks to a decision handed down by a federal district judge. Needless to say, I think @janeslusser and @PhillyMayor are pretty excited about today’s ruling affirming Philadelphia as a Sanctuary City. pic.twitter.com/gdnnjZT9ps — Steve Preston (@StevePrest) June 6, 2018 “That’s really a sad video to watch,” Barletta told Stuart Varney on Fox Business Network, “Especially for me.” “I don’t think the families of the victims in Philadelphia who were victims of illegal immigrants… I don’t think they’re dancing,” Barletta said. Barletta went on to cite the family of a child allegedly raped by an illegal immigrant in Philadelphia, saying he “is challenging Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) in November, and that he and Casey — the son of a former Pennsylvania governor — are “on opposite ends” of the sanctuary city and illegal immigration issue.” “That’s going to be a big issue in this election,” Barletta said.…

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Noncitizen Immigrants Voted Illegally in Pennsylvania Elections

Admin

A Pennsylvania election official confirmed Wednesday that noncitizen immigrants illegally voted in elections hundreds of times since 2000, casting doubt on the state’s ability to screen out ineligible voters on its election roles. Jonathan Marks, commissioner for Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, told a state legislative committee that an agency analysis found 544 improper…

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