McGraw Center hosts PA lawmakers for bipartisan conversation on education policy in the Commonwealth

Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Education Committee Chairmen (left) Bryan Cutler (R) and (right) Peter Schweyer (D) during their bipartisan conversation  on campus.

On April 3, guests and partners joined the Penn GSE community in person and online for a bipartisan conversation with Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Education Committee Chairmen Peter Schweyer and Bryan Cutler. The two elected officials—a Democrat representing Lehigh County and a Republican representing Lancaster County, respectively—gathered in the Penn Carey Law School for a discussion, sponsored by the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership, of some of the policies that will guide the future of education in Pennsylvania.

Despite the polarizing political moment, the two representatives from both sides of the aisle spoke collegially—and often jovially—about the work they do together on the Education Committee and their shared goals for the Commonwealth’s learners.

“One of the things that I’ve learned in Harrisburg is oftentimes we agree on the issues,” said Cutler. “This issue is every kid deserves a chance—every kid deserves a shot at a quality education—and it's one we agree on. Where we disagree sometimes are the solutions.”

Some of the issues that were discussed included ways to ensure public schools are adequately funded, students can have their special education needs met, and how higher education can and should prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.

Dean and George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education Katharine Strunk gave the evening’s opening remarks, noting that her strategic vision, Together for Good, is guided by the belief that education is the foundation of a just and thriving democracy, and this event was crucial to the lessons she wants Penn GSE students to learn and teach.

“At the heart of democracy is open civic dialogue,” she said. “Classrooms and other learning spaces must be the places that foster this dialogue to prepare students to engage across difference with empathy, with courage, and with curiosity.”

While answering questions from both moderator Tomea Sippio-Smith, director of the Coalition for Educational Excellence at Penn GSE, and from the audience about divisive issues such as school choice and coming changes to federal education policy, it was clear that Schweyer and Cutler work closely together, respect each other, and, even if they disagree, are often looking for areas of convergence.

“There is widespread agreement—bipartisan agreement—that we have smart, capable, talented students in every square mile of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Schweyer said during the discussion on school funding. “You don’t have to have gone to a Lower Merion or an affluent school district to be super smart, capable, and able to do big things. . . . If the public would not have invested in me as a human being—through Stafford Loans, being a Pell kid to be able to go off to college—I don't know where I would have landed. And [on programs like those] I think there is widespread agreement..”

As Sippio-Smith noted in her closing remarks, the topics that are crucial to Pennsylvania’s education future are complex and require collaborative approaches. Events like this bipartisan conversation are necessary to continue to bring people together to develop innovative solutions and spur change.

“Moving forward, our success will depend on continued dialogue and cooperation across political and institutional lines,” she said. “Because ultimately, it’s about working together for good—building a brighter future for all Pennsylvania students.”