PRINTER'S NO. 553
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
579
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY KINSEY, HILL-EVANS, MADDEN, SANCHEZ, SCHLOSSBERG,
PARKER, FLEMING, CIRESI, KIM AND HOHENSTEIN, MARCH 20, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 20, 2023
AN ACT
Establishing and providing for the implementation and
administration of the Beginning Educator Support and Training
(BEST) Program; and providing for powers and duties of the
Department of Education.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Beginning
Educator Support and Training (BEST) Program Act.
Section 2. Declaration of policy.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) The beginning years of a teacher's career are a
critical time in which intensive professional development and
training must occur.
(2) The public invests heavily in the preparation of
prospective teachers and more than half of all new teachers
leave some Pennsylvania school districts after one or two
years in the classroom.
(3) Intensive professional development and training are
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necessary to build on the preparation that precedes initial
certification, to transform academic preparation into
practical success in the classroom, to retain greater numbers
of capable beginning educators and to remove novices who show
little promise as teachers.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Beginning educator." A first-year teacher with a valid
Pennsylvania Instructional I certificate or Educational
Specialist I certificate or who is a long-term substitute, 45
days or more, employed in an eligible school district.
"Department." The Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Eligible school district." A school district with a high
turnover rate for beginning educators in a two-year period and
that is economically disadvantaged as determined by the
secretary.
"Performance-based assessment." An assessment that evaluates
beginning educators in relation to student learning and teaching
behaviors that is content-specific and reveals information about
the logic and coherence of the teachers' curriculum, the
appropriateness of the teacher's instructional decisions for
students, the range of pedagogical strategies the teacher uses
effectively, the quality of the teacher's assignments, the
teacher's skill in assessing student learning and the teacher's
ability to reflect on the teacher's own teaching and make
changes based on evidence of student learning.
"Program." The Beginning Educator Support and Training
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(BEST) Program established under section 4.
"Program quality." Excellence with respect to program
factors, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Program goals.
(2) Design resources.
(3) Management, evaluation and improvement of the
program.
(4) Working conditions.
(5) Support, training and assessment services for each
beginning educator.
"Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
Section 4. The Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST)
Program.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) The Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST)
Program is established and shall be administered by the
department.
(2) The department shall provide the program to all
school districts identified as having high teacher turnover
rates for first-year and second-year teachers and that are
economically disadvantaged as determined by the secretary and
that are selected for participation by the department.
(3) Participation in the program shall be mandatory for
beginning educators employed in eligible school districts
that apply for funding under section 6 and that are selected
for participation by the department.
(4) The department shall adopt and implement criteria
and standards for participation in the program, including
criteria regarding the eligibility of educators and standards
of local program quality and intensity for schools, school
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districts, colleges, universities and other educational and
professional organizations involved in the program. The
criteria and standards shall be consistent with the purposes
of the program.
(b) Program description.--The program shall support locally
designed, high-quality induction programs that provide
individualized support and performance-based assessment for all
participating beginning educators. The department shall develop
and implement policies to govern the support, training and
assessment of beginning educators.
(c) Continuing professional education.--For a beginning
educator who holds an Instructional I or Educational Specialist
I certificate who is subject to the requirements of section
1205.2 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as
the Public School Code of 1949, participation in the program
may, at the teacher's discretion, serve as credit towards hours
of continuing professional education programs, activities or
learning experiences.
Section 5. Administration.
The department shall implement and administer the program for
eligible school districts under this act. In administering the
program, the department shall provide or contract for all of the
following:
(1) Establishment of requirements for reviewing and
approving local teacher induction programs.
(2) Development and administration of a system for
ensuring local teacher induction program quality and
effectiveness in producing excellent program outcomes.
(3) Ensuring that an eligible school district has a
local induction plan in place for each participating
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beginning educator and that the program provides intensive,
mentor-based individualized support and assistance to each
participating beginning educator that includes a performance-
based assessment.
(4) Conducting and tracking research related to best
practices for teacher induction programs and professional
development materials and strategies for personnel involved
in implementing induction programs.
Section 6. Funding.
(a) Allocation.--
(1) To the extent funds are appropriated for the
program, an eligible school district or consortium of
eligible school districts may apply to the department for
funding to establish a local teacher induction program under
this act.
(2) From amounts appropriated for the purposes of this
act, the department shall allocate an amount not to exceed
$1,500 for each beginning educator participating in the
program at an eligible school district.
(3) To be eligible to receive funding, an eligible
school district must meet all the criteria and standards
required by the department.
(b) Participation limitation.--State funding for
participation in the program by an educator who holds a first-
level certificate is limited to two years or until the educator
has satisfied requirements for successful completion of the
local teacher induction program, whichever occurs first.
(c) Funding limitation.--No more than 10% of the total sum
appropriated annually shall be granted to a single eligible
school district.
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Section 7. Report.
The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the
program two years following full implementation and report the
findings to the General Assembly. An interim report shall be
provided to the General Assembly no later than July 1, 2026, if
full funding has not been provided prior to that date.
Section 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect July 1, 2023, or immediately,
whichever is later.
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