John Pittenger has died (former Dem. state rep. & ed. secretary, who did a lot for our party&state)

[gauguin57]

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/245987

Top Dem John Pittenger dead at 79
Was state legislator, education secretary

John C. Pittenger, former Pennsylvania Secretary of Education and former state representative died Sunday at Homestead Village from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 79.

... After practicing law in Lancaster from 1958 to 1965, Pittenger became involved in Democratic politics. He served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 96th District from 1965 to 1966. During this term, Pittenger helped draft the bill that set up the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency scholarship program and was a principal sponsor of the Mental Health/Mental Retardation Act of 1966. ...

... As secretary, he established due process rights for handicapped children and created the Governor's School for the Arts and the state government internship program for state college students.

He also led the fight to mandate equal athletic programs for female students in public schools and supervised the first complete rewrite of the school code in 30 years. In addition, he played a key role in adopting the system of statewide achievement and attitudinal testing in grades five, eight and 11.