93-3-WMR Audio on Demand presents the Preston and Steve show podcast.

And now, Preston and Steve's news update with Kathy Romano.

And it is February 25th Thursday.

Good morning, Kathy.

Good morning in the news this morning.

The chairs of Pennsylvania's State Senate Education Committee on Wednesday asked the Biden administration to waive this year's requirement for school standardized testing because of the pandemic. Senators Lindsay Williams and Scott Martin wrote in a letter that they understood the need to find out how much learning and what kind of learning children missed during the pandemic. But students also need some sense of stability before we

thrust additional stress on them in the name of determining what schools deserve more funding,

they wrote to President Biden and Acting Education Secretary Miguel Cordero. Cordona. Governor Tom

Wolf's Department of Education is considering allowing districts to administer the Pennsylvania system of

school assessments and Keystone exams over the summer or in September when schools are expected to be

back to educating children in classrooms rather than remotely. On Monday, the U.S. Education Department

said it will not allow states to forego federally required standardized testing in schools this year,

but it will give them flexibility to delay testing or hold it online.

The Biden administration said states also can apply to be exempted from certain accountability measures tied to the results.

States will be allowed to move tests to the summer or fall or they can offer shortened tests or online assessments.

Fourthcoming legislation to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday is believed to be the first with a Republican as an author,

although it likely faces the same uphill fight against opposition from the state legislature's GOP majorities.

Senator Daniel Lawton of Erie and Sharif Street of Philadelphia outlined the

proposal in a memo distributed to fellow senators. Lawton and Streets said regulating it can improve

public safety and better prevent minors from getting it while raising money for state treasury,

boosting the economy, and ending the disproportionate enforcement of marijuana laws against

black and Latino people.

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