In September 2019, the State Board of Education directed the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to begin the process of updating Pennsylvania’s science standards to align them with current research and best practices, including a review of Next Generation Science Standards. The State Board of Education’s current regulations include two sets of science standards – Science and Technology, and, Environment and Ecology – which serve as the basis for curriculum development and instruction in schools. Both sets of standards took effect on January 5, 2002.

PDE will examine the state’s current standards, outline the various components that must be addressed when changing regulations, and develop a proposed timeline for making the changes – with the overall goal being to provide the best framework possible to prepare all students to be productive citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PDE’s examination of the current standards includes input from the public. A series of stakeholder engagement sessions will be held across the state and virtually – the public is invited to attend and provide input. The stakeholder session dates, times, and locations appears below.

Register to attend a stakeholder session

PSTA understands the complication of these sessions being during the day since most of the stakeholders are teachers. We highly recommend participating in the virtual sessions to share your thoughts and input with PDE.