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        PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1089                      PRINTER'S NO. 2129

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE BILL

No. 923 Session of 2007


        INTRODUCED BY ROEBUCK, D. EVANS, FREEMAN, GALLOWAY, GRUCELA,
           JOSEPHS, W. KELLER, KORTZ, LEACH, McILHATTAN, MELIO, MURT,
           MYERS, M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, PARKER, PAYTON, PRESTON,
           READSHAW, SOLOBAY, STURLA, TANGRETTI, THOMAS, WALKO,
           YOUNGBLOOD AND LONGIETTI, MARCH 29, 2007

        AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, HOUSE OF
           REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, JUNE 27, 2007

                                     AN ACT

     1  Establishing and providing for the implementation and
     2     administration of the Beginning Educator Support and Training
     3     (BEST) Program; and providing for powers and duties of the
     4     Department of Education.

     5     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     6  hereby enacts as follows:
     7  Section 1.  Short title.
     8     This act shall be known and may be cited as the Beginning
     9  Educator Support and Training (BEST) Program.
    10  Section 2.  Declaration of policy.
    11     The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
    12         (1)  The beginning years of a teacher's career are a
    13     critical time in which intensive professional development and
    14     training must occur.
    15         (2)  The public invests heavily in the preparation of
    16     prospective teachers and more than half of all new teachers
    17     leave some Pennsylvania school districts after one or two

     1     years in the classroom.
     2         (3)  Intensive professional development and training are
     3     necessary to build on the preparation that precedes initial
     4     certification, to transform academic preparation into
     5     practical success in the classroom, to retain greater numbers
     6     of capable beginning educators and to remove novices who show
     7     little promise as teachers.
     8  Section 3.  Definitions.
     9     The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
    10  have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
    11  context clearly indicates otherwise:
    12     "Beginning educator."  A first-year teacher with a valid
    13  Pennsylvania Instructional I certificate or Educational
    14  Specialist I certificate or who is a long-term substitute, 45
    15  days or more, employed in an eligible school district.
    16     "Department."  The Department of Education of the
    17  Commonwealth.
    18     "Eligible school district."  A school district with a high
    19  turnover rate for beginning educators in a two-year period and
    20  that is economically disadvantaged as determined by the
    21  Secretary of Education.
    22     "Performance-based assessment."  An assessment that evaluates
    23  beginning educators in relation to student learning and teaching
    24  behaviors that is content-specific and reveals information about
    25  the logic and coherence of the teachers' curriculum, the
    26  appropriateness of their instructional decisions for students,
    27  the range of pedagogical strategies they use effectively, the
    28  quality of their assignments, their skill in assessing student
    29  learning and their ability to reflect on their own teaching and
    30  make changes based on evidence of student learning.
    20070H0923B2129                  - 2 -     

     1     "Program."  The Beginning Educator Support and Training
     2  (BEST) Program established by this act.
     3     "Program quality."  Excellence with respect to program
     4  factors, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
     5         (1)  Program goals.
     6         (2)  Design resources.
     7         (3)  Management, evaluation and improvement of the
     8     program.
     9         (4)  Working conditions.
    10         (5)  Support, training and assessment services to each
    11     beginning educator.
    12     "Secretary."  The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
    13  Section 3 3.1.  Establishment.                                    <--
    14     (a)  Program established.--There is hereby established the
    15  Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) Program, to be
    16  administered by the department. The department shall provide the
    17  program to school districts with ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IDENTIFIED  <--
    18  AS HAVING high teacher turnover rates for first-year and second-
    19  year teachers and that are economically disadvantaged as
    20  determined by the secretary. Participation in the program shall
    21  be mandatory for beginning educators employed in eligible school
    22  districts THAT APPLY FOR FUNDING UNDER SECTION 5. The department  <--
    23  shall adopt and implement criteria and standards for
    24  participation in the program, including criteria regarding the
    25  eligibility of educators and standards of local program quality
    26  and intensity for schools, school districts, colleges,
    27  universities and other educational and professional
    28  organizations involved in the program. The criteria and
    29  standards shall be consistent with the purposes of the program.
    30     (b)  Program description.--The program shall support locally
    20070H0923B2129                  - 3 -     

     1  designed, high-quality induction programs that provide
     2  individualized support and performance-based assessment for all
     3  participating beginning educators. The department shall develop
     4  and implement policies to govern the support, training and
     5  assessment of beginning educators., as a condition for the        <--
     6  professional certification of those educators in the future.
     7     (c)  Continuing professional education.--For a beginning
     8  educator who holds an Instructional I or Educational Specialist
     9  I certificate who is subject to the requirements of section
    10  1205.2 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as
    11  the Public School Code of 1949, participation in the program
    12  may, at the teacher's discretion, serve as credit towards hours
    13  of continuing professional education programs, activities or
    14  learning experiences.
    15  Section 4.  Administration.
    16     The department shall implement and administer the program for
    17  eligible school districts pursuant to this act. In administering
    18  the program, the department shall provide for or contract for
    19  all of the following:
    20         (1)  Establishment of requirements for reviewing and
    21     approving local teacher induction programs.
    22         (2)  Development and administration of a system for
    23     ensuring local teacher induction program quality and
    24     effectiveness in producing excellent program outcomes.
    25         (3)  Ensuring that an eligible school district has a
    26     local induction plan in place for each participating
    27     beginning educator and that the program provides intensive,
    28     mentor-based individualized support and assistance to each
    29     participating beginning educator that includes a performance-
    30     based assessment.
    20070H0923B2129                  - 4 -     

     1         (4)  Conducting and tracking research related to best
     2     practices for teacher induction programs and professional
     3     development materials and strategies for personnel involved
     4     in implementing induction programs.
     5  Section 5.  Funding.
     6     (a)  General rule.--An eligible school district or consortium
     7  of eligible school districts shall MAY apply to the department    <--
     8  for funding to establish a local teacher induction program
     9  pursuant to this act. From amounts appropriated for the purposes
    10  of this act, the department shall allocate $1,500 for each
    11  beginning educator participating in the program at the eligible   <--
    12  school district DISTRICTS. To be eligible to receive funding, an  <--
    13  eligible school district shall meet all the criteria and
    14  standards required by the department.
    15     (b)  Participation limitation.--State funding for
    16  participation in the program by educators who hold a first-level
    17  certificate is limited to two years or until the teacher has
    18  satisfied requirements for successful completion of the local
    19  teacher induction program, whichever occurs first.
    20     (c)  Funding limitation.--No more than 10% of the total sum
    21  appropriated annually shall be granted to any single eligible
    22  school district.
    23  Section 6.  Report.
    24     The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the
    25  program two years following full implementation and report the
    26  findings to the General Assembly. An interim report shall be
    27  provided to the General Assembly no later than July 1, 2008, if
    28  full funding has not been provided prior to that date.
    29  Section 7.  Effective date.
    30     This act shall take effect July 1, 2007, or immediately,
    20070H0923B2129                  - 5 -     

     1  whichever is later.




















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