THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY WASHINGTON, DINNIMAN, FONTANA, HUGHES, KITCHEN, STOUT AND TARTAGLIONE, JULY 31, 2009

REFERRED TO EDUCATION, JULY 31, 2009  

AN ACT

Establishing the Schools of Excellence.

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 Schools of

Excellence Act.

Section 2.  Legislative intent.

It is the intent of the General Assembly to establish the

permanent operation of the Schools of Excellence that will do

all of the following:

(1)  Foster leadership skills through intensive and

acutely relevant curricula, and by tackling current, pressing

issues within students' respective fields, further enabling

them to deal with current problems in their field and

determine how to solve future problems as they arise. 

(2)  Enable students to live together, learn together and

work toward a common goal. Committed youth will be able to

share their talents and knowledge for the betterment of

others.

(3)  Give students the freedom to take creative and

intellectual risks that advance their skills and vision

without the inhibitions found in a normal classroom.

(4)  Educate students about the positive impact of

community service and encourage their participation.

(5)  Encourage students and alumni to remain in

Pennsylvania.

(6)  Provide encouragement to students from every race,

ethnicity, socioeconomic status, ideology and geographic

location in Pennsylvania, providing opportunity for all

students.

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:

"Department."  The Department of Education of the

Commonwealth.

"Host site."  The college or university where a school of

excellence is located.

"Program."  The Schools of Excellence Program.

"Schools of Excellence."  The following:

(1)  School for the Agriculture Sciences at The

Pennsylvania State University.

(2)  School for the Arts at Mercyhurst College.

(3)  School for Global Entrepreneurship at Lehigh

University.

(4)  School for Information, Society and Technology at

Drexel University.

(5)  School for International Studies at University of

Pittsburgh.

(6)  School for Health Care at University of Pittsburgh.

(7)  School for Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

(8)  School for Teaching at Millersville University.

"Tuition free."  No charge for tuition is assessed to a

student enrolled in a program at a participating institution of

higher education. For purposes of this definition, tuition does

not include any additional fees or surcharges that are required

for enrollment in a particular program.

Section 4.  Schools of Excellence Program.

The Schools of Excellence Program is hereby established

within the department.

Section 5.  Duties of department.

(a)  Disciplines.--The department shall establish Schools of

Excellence in the following disciplines at host sites throughout

this Commonwealth. The disciplines shall include all of the

following:

(1)  Arts.

(2)  Agricultural sciences.

(3)  Information, society and technology.

(4)  International studies.

(5)  Sciences.

(6)  Teaching, which shall include a course of study in

urban teaching.

(7)  Global entrepreneurship.

(8)  Health care.

(b)  Locations.--Schools of Excellence may be sponsored by

and located at Pennsylvania institutions of higher education

that previously sponsored Governor's Schools. The department

shall work with the Pennsylvania institutions of higher

education to ensure that Schools of Excellence are

geographically dispersed throughout this Commonwealth and cover

the disciplines referenced above. Where an institution that

previously sponsored a Governor's School is no longer willing or

able to sponsor a School of Excellence, the department shall

work with other institutions of higher education or nonprofit

organizations to find a sponsor for this program.

(c)  Administration.--In administering the program, the

department shall do all of the following:

(1)  Make applications available to every public and

nonpublic school in this Commonwealth and include the

application on the department's Internet website.

(2)  Ensure that each School of Excellence is utilizing a

process whereby students are selected on the basis of their

performance and achievement through a competitive selection

process and seek to ensure an economically, socially and

geographically diverse student population.

(3)  Ensure the program is tuition free enabling all

qualified students the opportunity to enroll in the program

regardless of their economic circumstances.

(d)  Scheduling.--Schools of Excellence shall be held, to the

extent possible, during the summer months between the end and

beginning of the school year. The department may grant

permission for a school to be held at other times during the

school year when circumstances and programming options warrant

such a change.

(e)  Costs.--Students attending a School of Excellence shall

not be required to pay any tuition or fees to attend and

participate in a School of Excellence. Students are responsible

for their own costs relating to transportation to and from the

program.

Section 6.  Reports.

(a)    Requirement.--The department, on the first of October of

each year, shall file a report with the Governor, the chairman

and minority chairman of the Education Committee of the Senate

and the chairman and minority chairman of the Education

Committee of the House of Representatives.

(b)  Contents.--The report required under subsection (a)

shall include the following information:

(1)  The number of host sites participating in the

program.

(2)  The number of students participating at each school

of excellence.

(3)  The number of faculty at each host site.

(4)  The subject, focus and activities of each class.

Section 7.  Funding.

The department shall provide funding for the Schools of

Excellence out of its general appropriation. Funding to

institutions sponsoring a School of Excellence shall not be a

reimbursement for prior year's costs. Institutions shall receive

funding from the department to assist with costs relating to

implementing a program. An institution shall not receive funding

in any given year for sponsoring a School of Excellence in an

amount that exceeds the amount expended by the Commonwealth for

a previous Governor's School program; provided, however, that

this amount may be adjusted every five years based on the

increase to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers

(CPI-U) for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland

area for the preceding 12 months in the year in which the

increase in funding is to occur. 

Section 20.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect immediately.