How Penn State trustees plan to vote on campus closures could run afoul of transparency law

WESA 5/7 11:30P Wyatt Massey | Spotlight PA Stat

The Penn State Board of Trustees plans to gather in a virtual-only meeting in May to decide the fate of 12 commonwealth campuses. University President Neeli Bendapudi will propose which of the campuses to close.

Pa. Senate passes bill banning trans girls and women from school sports

WESA 5/7 7:00A Jordan Wilkie | WITF

Five Democrats joined all 27 Republicans to send the bill to the Pa. House. Both House Democratic leadership and Gov. Josh Shapiro opposes the bill.

Costly cyber charter tuition is consuming tens of millions of new state dollars for poor Pa....

WESA 5/3 1:00A Kate Huangpu | Spotlight PA

When underfunded Pa. school districts got extra money last year, dozens put it toward charter school burdens that one district called "ridiculous."

Pittsburgh Public’s plan to internally develop school attendance zones is met with some skepticism

WESA 4/28 11:31P Glynis Board

In lieu of a third-party contractor, Pittsburgh Public Schools will be analyzing its own data in-house to determine which elementary schools will feed into given high schools.

International students in Pittsburgh see status reinstated

WESA 4/28 5:19A Glynis Board

“Previously, 2 Pitt graduate students, 1 undergraduate student and 3 recent Pitt graduates had their records in SEVIS terminated by the federal government,” University of Pittsburgh spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said. All six have had records...

U.S. Rep. Deluzio: Ending farm-to-school program will hurt kids, agriculture industry

WESA 4/22 11:45A Kate Giammarise

The U.S. Department of Agriculture ended the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program last month, saying it was a legacy of the pandemic.

PPS' board is asking families to brainstorm for the future, but present questions remain

WESA 4/21 11:32P Jillian Forstadt, Susan Scott Pe

At a listening session inside Squirrel Hill’s Allderdice High School on Monday, board members gathered parents to brainstorm ideas for the district's future.

Glitches, unproven tech in new Pa. financial aid system exacerbated delays for thousands of...

WESA 4/17 11:32P Charlotte Keith | Spotlight PA

School administrators struggled to use an unfamiliar system riddled with problems as thousands of students waited for money they were counting on to pay for college.

PPS is purchasing healthier, more sustainable food. Federal cuts could limit that progress.

WESA 4/16 11:30P Jillian Forstadt

A recent report found that more than 15% of the district’s $5.6 million food budget that year was spent on items from local and family-owned suppliers.

At least 14 Penn State international students have had their visas revoked

WESA 4/14 11:30P Anne Danahy

At least 14 international students at Penn State have recently had their visas revoked, in what appears to be part of a broader shift in enforcement under President Donald Trump.

Pa. and 15 other states sue over Trump administration's halt of pandemic relief aid for schools

WESA 4/11 12:41A Carolyn Thompson | Associated Pr

Public officials in 16 states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration to restore access to federal pandemic relief funding for schools

Trump administration revokes visas of 2 current, 5 former international students at Carnegie Mellon

WESA 4/9 1:03A Susan Scott Peterson

CMU's provost sent a letter to students and staff informing them that the student visas of two current students and five recent graduates had been revoked.

Want to fix your door, headphones, jeans? New how-to-repair clinic has just opened up in Pittsburgh

WESA 4/7 11:32P Gabriela Herring

About 25 repairs and a dozen people stopped in over the course of the inaugural Repair Cafe Pittsburgh event. Subsequent events are planned at Construction Junction in Point Breeze the first Saturday of each month.

Duquesne president Ken Gormley on higher ed uncertainty and what’s next after he steps down in 2026

WESA 4/7 11:31P Priyanka Tewari, Susan Scott Pet

90.5 WESA’s Priyanka Tewari interviewed Gormley about his next act and the challenges facing higher education under the Trump administration.

Private funding has created 100s of new child care spots in this Pa. county

WESA 4/6 8:00A Sarah Boden | Spotlight PA

But the money will run out by the end of 2026 and funders want state lawmakers to provide a more permanent solution to the low wages and limited availability common to the child care industry.