Calling on the State Legislature of Pennsylvania, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and the federal government to mandate these certain education initiatives in Pennsylvania and to mandate these initiatives nationwide.

WHEREAS, City Council supports mandating development of well-rounded, modern curriculum for all students from pre-K through high school graduation; and

WHEREAS, Technology and entrepreneurship education, including computer programming and coding, is not currently required for all students in Pennsylvania despite the increasing need for these skills in the modern workplace; and

WHEREAS, Technology education including computer programming and coding must be mandated for all students from pre-K through 12th grade; and

WHEREAS, Entrepreneurship coursework must be mandated for all students from grades 9-12; and

WHEREAS, Financial literacy education is not currently required for all students in Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia has a 26 percent poverty rate, the highest rate of any big city in the country; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia’s youth are doubly disadvantaged in learning financial literacy because of a lack of educational opportunity in school and commonly experiencing personal economic adversity; and

WHEREAS, Financial literacy education must be mandated for all students in Pennsylvania from pre-K through 12th grade; and

WHEREAS, Real-world work experience is invaluable for students but such experience is not available to all students in Pennsylvania through current curriculum; and

WHEREAS, An internship program one day per week for credit should be made available to students in Pennsylvania from grades 9-12; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the State Legislature of Pennsylvania, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and the federal government should join in City Council’s support of mandating these certain education initiatives in Pennsylvania and nationwide.

End