Our students deserve to have not only the best staff in their schools but also fully qualified and capable leaders in their school districts. In Iowa, a superintendent was wrongly hired without being legally qualified to work. This man had previously been hired to work as a superintendent in a Pennsylvania school district despite not being qualified for the role. His arrest by ICE exposed the serious gaps in employment verification for individuals serving in public education roles. Our parents and families should be able to trust that individuals hired to work in their child’s school are fully qualified and allowed to be educating and supporting students. They need reassurance that legislators are working hard to protect the integrity of Pennsylvania’s educational system and will prevent such an egregious hiring mistake from ever happening again.

That is why I will be introducing legislation in the near future to erase this gap in the verification process and ensure that our children receive only the most qualified individuals to lead as principals, superintendents, and other professional employees in our Commonwealth’s school districts.

Please join me in cosponsoring this legislation to uphold the integrity of our school districts and strengthen professional employee protections.