When Schools Aren’t Safe, Families Deserve Better Choices

The hazing story coming out of Cheltenham High—in which a 15-year-old football player not only endured sexual assault by his teammates but also was silenced by his coaches—is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Cheltenham is, by most measures, supposed to be a safe school. Yet state data show it logged 16 incidents involving law enforcement last year, including assaults, weapons possession, and even “a terroristic threat.”

Federal law requires that “persistently dangerous schools” notify parents and give students the resources to transfer somewhere safer.

Unfortunately, Pennsylvania doesn’t accurately track school violence. Instead, the state counts only incidents resulting in arrest, not the underlying violent acts themselves—a loophole that allows districts to look the other way. Using a more honest measure, an independent 24-year study found that one-third of Pennsylvania public schools qualify as persistently dangerous.

Families shouldn’t have to wait for tragedy to get their kids out of harm’s way. Lawmakers must empower students with the resources they need to find better schools. This means expanding the commonwealth’s successful tax-credit scholarship programs and enacting new opportunities, such as Lifeline Scholarships or the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit.

No kid should feel trapped in a dangerous school.

For more reading on this topic, be sure to check out the Commonwealth Foundation’s recent research:

• Persistently Dangerous Pennsylvania Public Schools
• Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Myths and Facts
• Education Landscape in Pennsylvania
• Tax-Credit Scholarship Myths and Facts