{"id":117319,"date":"2026-02-18T18:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T18:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/117319\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T18:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T18:32:08","slug":"flood-hosts-policy-hearing-on-back-to-school-affordability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/117319\/","title":{"rendered":"Flood Hosts Policy Hearing on Back-to-School Affordability"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n Feb. 18, 2026
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HARRISBURG \u2013 Rep. Ann Flood (R-Northampton) hosted a House Republican Policy Committee hearing in her home district recently to examine the rising cost of back-to-school supplies and explore solutions to ease the financial burden on Pennsylvania families.<\/p>\n

The hearing, titled \u201cAffordability for Families,\u201d was held at Crayola\u2019s world headquarters in Easton. Flood was joined by House Republican Policy Committee Chairman David H. Rowe (R-Snyder\/Union\/Mifflin\/Juniata) and other lawmakers. \n<\/p>\n

The discussion focused on Flood\u2019s legislation, House Bill 1596<\/a>, which would establish an annual back-to-school sales tax holiday in Pennsylvania. \n<\/p>\n

\u201cBack-to-school shopping has become increasingly expensive,\u201d Flood said. \u201cHouse Bill 1596 would provide meaningful, targeted relief to help families afford essential school supplies when they need it most.\u201d \n<\/p>\n

Testimony was provided by Mikal Sabatine of Families First of Pen Argyl; Sarah Whitworth, a school counselor at Moore Elementary School; and Marisa Elias, a Pennsylvania parent raising six children. They shared how rising costs and growing poverty are impacting local families. According to testimony, 14% of Pennsylvania students live in poverty, and in the Pen Argyl Area School District, 55% of students receive free or reduced-price lunch. \n<\/p>\n

Flood highlighted the significance of hosting the hearing at Crayola, a longtime employer in the 138th District and a company deeply tied to education and back-to-school traditions. \n<\/p>\n

\u201cCrayola has been part of this community for generations,\u201d Flood said. \u201cIt is fitting that we hold this conversation about affordability, education, and opportunity in a place that has supported families and students for decades.\u201d \n<\/p>\n

House Bill 1596 was referred to the House Finance Committee for consideration. \n<\/p>\n

A full video recording of the policy hearing is available here<\/a>. \n<\/p>\n

Representative Ann Flood
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\n138th Legislative District
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\nPennsylvania House of Representatives
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\nMedia Contact: Will Jones
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\n717.260.6615
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\nWJones@pahousegop.com
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\nRepFlood.com \/ Facebook.com\/RepAnnFlood
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\n \"Flood <\/p>\n

Rep. Ann Flood (R-Northampton) shares a moment with Pete Ruggiero, president and CEO of Crayola and the green crayon mascot at Crayola headquarters in Easton. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Feb. 18, 2026 HARRISBURG \u2013 Rep. Ann Flood (R-Northampton) hosted a House Republican…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117320,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-117319","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-pennsylvania","9":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","10":"tag-pennsylvania-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}