Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Tyree Blocker made the right call when he scrapped the PSP’s practice of using lie detector tests on its recruits.

The move, which came to light last week and has already generated some pushback from the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, could have been done in a more open way. But regardless of the optics, it was the right call by Blocker, and he should stand firm.

Proponents of the tests see it as an important tool to weed out troubled applicants. In reality, lie detector tests are unscientific and unreliable.

There’s a reason no American court allows them to be presented as evidence; and a reason the American Psychological Association calls their efficacy “more myth than reality.” They’re easily manipulated by knowledgeable cheats, and easily misinterpreted, even by knowledgeable technicians.

State police are better off relying upon their considerable investigative expertise when it comes to vetting recruits, rather than on a fundamentally flawed and unreliable test.

[naviga:h3]Jeer[/naviga:h3]

As if we needed more evidence that Pennsylvania taxpayers continue to overpay for an underperforming General Assembly, the state House of Representatives this week changed a rule to dramatically shorten the time available for public review of legislation.

Now the House must wait only six hours instead of 24 before taking final votes on bills amended by the state Senate. The 24-hour rule was adopted in 2007 with other reforms, after legislators voted to raise their own pay in 2005, prompting a public outcry.

Not to worry, though. Leaders in the General Assembly say the rule change isn’t about rolling back transparency. It’s about enabling House members to leave Harrisburg more quickly after tying up loose ends. So state legislators aren’t being dishonest, just lazy.

The House needs to put the public’s right to know first, and roll back this self-serving change immediately.

[naviga:h3]Cheer[/naviga:h3]

Officials at Seneca Valley School District deserve plaudits for unveiling a curriculum change that will give first graders a taste of Spanish language classes one day each week, starting next school year.

This isn’t a new idea. The notion that young minds are naturally more apt to pick up new languages has been around for decades. Educators also say that helping young students become bilingual can lead to them having an easier time picking up third or fourth languages later in life.

That’s an exciting prospect that has nothing to do with America’s culture wars and everything to do with revitalizing the way students learn languages — including English — in our schools.

If you know anything about literacy rates in America — 19 percent of high school graduates can’t read; 32 million adults can’t read; those rates haven’t changed in more than a decade — it’s clear that memorizing words and suffering through grammar lessons isn’t working and hasn’t worked for some time now.