PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 3628, 3781 PRINTER'S NO. 4333
No. 2466 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY ROEBUCK, McILVAINE SMITH, HARKINS, GRUCELA, MILNE, RAPP, BELFANTI, BISHOP, BLACKWELL, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, FRANKEL, GEORGE, HARPER, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, JAMES, JOSEPHS, MAHONEY, MANN, MYERS, M. O'BRIEN, PARKER, READSHAW, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, STEIL, SURRA, THOMAS, WILLIAMS, YOUNGBLOOD AND MURT, APRIL 15, 2008
AS RE-REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
AN ACT 1 Establishing and providing for the powers and duties of the 2 Office for Drop-out Prevention and Data Collection in the 3 Department of Education; and providing for grant funding for 4 drop-out prevention plans and drop-out recovery programs. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Chapter 1. Preliminary Provisions 7 Section 101. Short title. 8 Section 102. Findings. 9 Section 103. Definitions. 10 Chapter 3. Office for Drop-out Prevention and Data Collection 11 Section 301. Establishment. 12 Section 302. Powers and duties. 13 Section 303. Data collection and reporting. 14 Chapter 5. Drop-out Prevention Plan and Drop-out Recovery 15 Programs Grants 16 Section 501. Drop-out Prevention Grant Program.
1 Section 502. Drop-out recovery grant program. 2 Section 503. Grant applications. 3 Section 504. Grant coordinator. 4 Section 505. Individual graduation plans. 5 Section 506. Technical assistance. 6 Section 507. Priority funding. 7 Chapter 7. Administration 8 Section 701. Reporting. 9 Chapter 11. Miscellaneous Provisions 10 Section 1101. Individualized education program. 11 Section 1102. Effective date. 12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 13 hereby enacts as follows: 14 CHAPTER 1 15 PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS 16 Section 101. Short title. 17 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Drop-out 18 Prevention and Data Collection Act. 19 Section 102. Findings. 20 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: 21 (1) Significant discrepancies in school district 22 reporting, drop-out statistics and graduation rate formulas 23 exist nationwide. 24 (2) The United States Secretary of Education recently 25 announced that the United States Department of Education will 26 require all states to use a Federal formula for the 27 calculation of drop-out and graduation rates. 28 (3) The Pennsylvania Department of Education's 29 statistics between the 1995-1996 and 2005-2006 school years 30 show that drop-out rates in this Commonwealth may have 20080H2466B4333 - 2 -
1 decreased Statewide, but serious questions exist regarding 2 the uniformity in reporting, and therefore, the reliability 3 of that data. 4 (4) Research indicates that students who drop out of 5 school are likely to earn far less money throughout their 6 lives than college or high school graduates and experience 7 teen pregnancy, substance abuse, crime and incarceration. 8 (5) This Commonwealth must be prepared to prioritize 9 drop-out prevention in light of a forthcoming Federal drop- 10 out rate formula for all school districts that could provide 11 this Commonwealth with more accurate data on the number of 12 dropouts per year in this Commonwealth. 13 (6) The Commonwealth should take proactive steps to help 14 students stay engaged and on track for graduation from high 15 school. 16 (7) School districts need additional resources and 17 strategies to help establish and sustain programming to 18 reduce the number of dropouts. 19 Section 103. Definitions. 20 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 21 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 22 context clearly indicates otherwise: 23 "Accelerated high school." A high school allowing at-risk 24 students to accelerate their graduation dates through flexible 25 scheduling and for-credit innovative programs and courses taught 26 by certified teachers and professionals who are experts in their 27 fields. 28 "Alternative education program." An educational program that 29 promotes the advancement of the academic needs of at-risk 30 students and students unsuccessful in a traditional educational 20080H2466B4333 - 3 -
1 environment, including, but not limited to, transfer high 2 schools, accelerated high schools, middle college high schools, 3 General Educational Development (GED) programs and other 4 programs approved by the office. 5 "At-risk student." A student enrolled in a public school 6 district who is at risk of dropping out as indicated by at least 7 one of the following criteria: 8 (1) A past record of irregular attendance. 9 (2) A past record of underachievement in which the 10 student is at least one year behind the coursework for the 11 respective grade level. 12 (3) A past record of low motivation or disinterest in 13 the educational program. 14 (4) A history of discipline or behavioral problems. 15 (5) A disadvantaged socioeconomic background. 16 (6) A lack of parental or adult support. 17 (7) Other factors affecting school performance, 18 including, but not limited to, teenage pregnancy or 19 parenting, residence in a homeless shelter or temporary 20 living arrangement, substance abuse, child abuse or neglect, 21 or limited English proficiency. 22 "Career and technical school." Any public or private 23 postsecondary school that provides a form of education of less 24 than college grade, given in school or elsewhere, the purpose of 25 which is to assist an individual to effectively pursue 26 recognized profitable employment, whether for wages or 27 otherwise. 28 "Charter school." The term shall have the same meaning as in 29 section 1703-A of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), 30 known as the Public School Code of 1949. 20080H2466B4333 - 4 -
1 "Cyber charter school." The term shall have the same meaning 2 as in section 1703-A of act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), 3 known as the Public School Code of 1949. 4 "Community partner." Any of the following: 5 (1) Nonprofit community-based organization. 6 (2) Workforce investment board. 7 (3) Youth council. 8 (4) Institution of higher education. 9 (5) Career and technical school. 10 (6) Alternative education program. 11 (7) Employer or nonprofit business organization. 12 (8) Nonprofit community and economic development 13 organization. 14 (9) Other Department of Education-approved community or 15 regional organization. 16 "Department." The Department of Education of the 17 Commonwealth. 18 "Drop-out prevention plan." A plan that uses evidence or 19 research-based strategies to offer alternative measures to 20 encourage students to remain in school and obtain a high school 21 diploma and transition into postsecondary education or career 22 training. 23 "Drop-out recovery program." A program that uses evidence or 24 research-based strategies to reach out to those individuals who 25 drop out of school prior to completion of a public school's 26 academic program and offer them alternatives to obtaining their 27 high school diplomas or passing the General Educational 28 Development (GED) test battery. 29 "Early warning system." A research-based system designed and 30 established by the Department of Education and made available to 20080H2466B4333 - 5 -
1 school entities at no cost for use to help identify at-risk 2 students. 3 "General Educational Development test battery" or "GED test 4 battery." A battery of five tests which, when passed, certifies 5 that the taker has American-level academic skills. 6 "Graduation gap." The percentage of students who entered the 7 ninth grade and did not graduate from the same high school in 8 the same district four years later. 9 "Institution of higher education." Any public or private 10 two-year, four-year or higher postsecondary institution in this 11 Commonwealth that has been accredited at the college level by an 12 accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education. 13 "Learning-to-work program." A supervised educational program 14 offered by a school district that incorporates practical work 15 experience and academic study. This term shall include 16 cooperative vocational programs. 17 "Middle college high school." A small high school located on 18 or adjacent to a two-year or four-year college, thereby 19 providing students the opportunity to take college courses and 20 high school classes at the same time, which serves students who 21 are academically able but underachieving and disengaged and may 22 have a high absenteeism rate, designed to fill a gap in current 23 educational offerings in a county and serve a student population 24 that is struggling in the traditional educational system. 25 "Nonprofit community-based organization." A public or 26 private nonprofit organization, governed by a community-based 27 board of directors, which serves to provide access to 28 educational and training resources or related services to 29 individuals in the community. 30 "Office." The Office for Drop-out Prevention and Data 20080H2466B4333 - 6 -
1 Collection established by this act. 2 "School district." The term shall have the same meaning as 3 in section 102 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), 4 known as the Public School Code of 1949. 5 "School entity." The term shall have the same meaning as in 6 section 1101-A of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), 7 known as the Public School Code of 1949. 8 "Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth. 9 "Service learning programs." Teaching methods that combine 10 meaningful service to community with curriculum-based learning 11 through which students improve their academic skills by applying 12 what they learn in school to the real world and then reflect on 13 their experiences to reinforce the link between their service 14 and their learning. 15 "Transfer high school." A small, full-time high school 16 operated by a school district or institution of higher education 17 and designed to reengage students who exceed the age limitation 18 in section 1301 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), 19 known as the Public School Code of 1949, or have dropped out of 20 high school. The essential elements of transfer high schools 21 include: 22 (1) A personalized learning environment. 23 (2) Rigorous academic standards in accordance with 22 24 Pa. Code Ch. 4 (relating to academic standards and 25 assessment). 26 (3) Student-centered pedagogy. 27 (4) Support to meet instructional and developmental 28 goals. 29 (5) A focus on connections to postsecondary education or 30 careers. 20080H2466B4333 - 7 -
1 "Youth council." Locally sponsored youth education and 2 development programs that use community volunteers who become 3 mentors to teach adolescents how to work within their local 4 political system. 5 CHAPTER 3 6 OFFICE FOR DROP-OUT PREVENTION 7 AND DATA COLLECTION 8 Section 301. Establishment. 9 There is hereby established in the department the Office for 10 Drop-out Prevention and Data Collection. 11 Section 302. Powers and duties. 12 The office shall have the following powers and duties: 13 (1) To create by the 2009-2010 school year a Statewide 14 definition of "dropout," if none is provided by Federal 15 statute, regulation or guideline and, in accordance with any 16 Federal statute, regulation or guideline, report the 17 graduation rates, drop-out rates and graduation-gap rates in 18 this Commonwealth. 19 (2) To implement and maintain a high-quality data 20 collection and reporting system that accurately accounts for 21 all students when calculating high school graduation and 22 drop-out rates in accordance with Federal regulations or 23 guidelines. The reporting system shall include the 24 calculation of graduation rates, drop-out rates and the 25 graduation-gap rates in all school entities, charter schools 26 and cyber charter schools. 27 (3) To ensure that all school districts are provided 28 with tools and sufficient funding for accurate reporting of 29 graduation and drop-out data. 30 (4) To increase coordination and collaboration among 20080H2466B4333 - 8 -
1 nonprofit, community-based organizations, school entities, 2 businesses, institutions of higher education and parents in 3 order to help lower the drop-out rate. 4 (5) To increase efforts to reengage those individuals 5 who previously dropped out and those who are considering 6 dropping out, and to encourage those individuals who drop out 7 to reenroll in secondary school and complete educational 8 programs in order to receive a diploma or its equivalent. 9 (6) To serve as a clearinghouse of information, policies 10 and strategies aimed at decreasing the number of dropouts and 11 aiding school districts in the development of drop-out 12 prevention plans. 13 (7) To provide information, policies and strategies for 14 school entities and community partners aimed at establishing 15 and maintaining drop-out recovery programs. 16 (8) To distribute grants in accordance with the 17 requirements of this act to school districts and community 18 partners that apply for and are approved to receive a drop- 19 out prevention plan or drop-out recovery grant. 20 (9) To require school entities, charter schools and 21 cyber charter schools to report student drop-out information 22 to the department using the offices' data collection system. 23 Section 303. Data collection and reporting. 24 (a) Categories.--Pursuant to section 302, data collected by 25 the office on drop-out, graduation and graduation-gap rates 26 shall be disaggregated in the following categories: 27 (1) Limited English proficiency. 28 (2) Low income. 29 (3) Special education. 30 (4) Gifted education. 20080H2466B4333 - 9 -
1 (5) Race/ethnicity. 2 (6) School entity. 3 (7) Charter school or cyber charter school. 4 (8) Gender. 5 (9) Geographic area. 6 (10) Other categories as determined by the office. 7 (b) Availability.--The office shall ensure that the data 8 collection and reporting system be accurate, uniform and 9 accessible to school entities, charter schools, cyber charter 10 schools and Commonwealth residents via the department's publicly 11 accessible Internet website. 12 CHAPTER 5 13 DROP-OUT PREVENTION PLAN AND 14 DROP-OUT RECOVERY PROGRAMS GRANTS 15 Section 501. Drop-out Prevention Grant Program. 16 (a) Establishment.--The office shall establish and 17 administer a drop-out prevention plan grant program pursuant to 18 the requirements of section 302 with moneys appropriated by the 19 General Assembly. 20 (b) Drop-out prevention grant use.--A school district, 21 working in conjunction with a community partner, that receives a 22 drop-out prevention grant pursuant to the requirements of this 23 act, shall use the grant to establish, develop or maintain drop- 24 out prevention programs or strategies, including, but not 25 limited to, the following: 26 (1) Hire necessary personnel to implement or maintain an 27 early warning system to identify at-risk students or students 28 unlikely to graduate on time from high school without 29 receiving school-based support. 30 (2) Implement an intervention strategy within school 20080H2466B4333 - 10 -
1 districts with drop-out rates above the State average with 2 support programs and awareness activities to inform all 3 students in middle and high school of the characteristics of 4 at-risk students and the future impact of an individual's not 5 receiving a diploma. 6 (3) Implement student interventions for those 7 individuals who present two or more characteristics of an at- 8 risk student. Intervention strategies shall include, but 9 shall not be limited to, intensive academic remediation, 10 summer transition programs and academic support for students 11 during and beyond the first ninth-grade marking period. 12 (4) Provide intensive academic support for those 13 students exhibiting more than two of the characteristics of 14 an at-risk student and in need of immediate drop-out 15 prevention assistance, including, but not limited to, 16 learning-to-work opportunities that offer career exploration, 17 service learning opportunities, entrepreneurial experiences 18 and other drop-out prevention strategies approved by the 19 office that bring relevance to academic subject areas. 20 (5) Offer alternative methods for at-risk students to 21 obtain a high school diploma or to pass the GED test battery, 22 which may include, but shall not be limited to, virtual or 23 online education programs established, sponsored or made 24 available by at-risk students' resident school districts. 25 (6) Provide at-risk students with exposure to 26 postsecondary education, career exploration, work preparation 27 and skills development, and facilitate financial aid 28 counseling for postsecondary education. 29 (7) Provide other drop-out prevention activities, 30 strategies or plans approved by the office, which may 20080H2466B4333 - 11 -
1 include, but shall not be limited to, innovative or pilot 2 drop-out prevention plans currently in use or proposed by a 3 school district or a community partner. 4 Section 502. Drop-out recovery grant program. 5 (a) Establishment.--The office shall establish and 6 administer a drop-out recovery grant program pursuant to section 7 302 with moneys appropriated by the General Assembly. 8 (b) Grant use.--A community partner, working in conjunction 9 with a school district, that receives a drop-out recovery grant 10 pursuant to the requirements of this act, shall use the grant to 11 establish, develop or maintain evidence or research-based, drop- 12 out recovery programs and strategies. Programs and strategies 13 shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following: 14 (1) Provide outreach and educational options to dropouts 15 through a locally or regionally based community collaboration 16 between a school district and a community partner. 17 (2) Hire individuals who seek out, recruit and work to 18 reengage dropouts for placement into alternative educational 19 programming. 20 (3) Implement programs for young people whose literacy 21 and numeracy levels are too low for them to participate 22 meaningfully in formal educational programming. 23 (4) Provide learning-to-work programs that offer in- 24 depth job readiness and career exploration, including 25 academic support, work preparation, skills development, 26 internships and entrepreneurial experiences designed to 27 enhance the academic component of alternative education 28 programs. 29 (5) Provide occupational preparation programs that offer 30 dropouts or those individuals returning from delinquent 20080H2466B4333 - 12 -
1 placement, or both, with approved career technical education 2 in high-demand occupations. 3 (6) Provide postsecondary education exposure and 4 facilitate financial aid counseling for dropouts who seek to 5 participate in postsecondary education or job training. 6 (7) Provide other activities, strategies or programs 7 approved by the office, which may include innovative or drop- 8 out recovery pilot programs currently in use or proposed by a 9 community partner or a school district. 10 Section 503. Grant applications. 11 (a) Office responsibilities.--The office shall develop two 12 separate grant applications for drop-out prevention plans and 13 drop-out recovery programs. The office shall make the 14 applications available to school districts and community 15 partners on the department's publicly accessible Internet 16 website. The office shall annually review all grant applications 17 for approval and distribute grants to selected school districts 18 and community partners no later than October 1 of each year. 19 (b) Application for drop-out prevention plan grants.--A 20 school district shall submit the following with a drop-out 21 prevention plan application: 22 (1) A description of the school district's current or 23 proposed drop-out prevention plan that includes a 24 comprehensive list of alternative education programs and 25 pathways to earn a diploma. 26 (2) A description of the school district's programs, 27 services and strategies aimed at drop-out prevention. 28 (3) A description of how the grant will augment a 29 current drop-out prevention plan or create additional drop- 30 out prevention services for students. 20080H2466B4333 - 13 -
1 (4) An estimate of the number of students who will be 2 served by a drop-out prevention grant and who will be 3 provided with individual graduation plans. 4 (5) A listing of the community partners that the school 5 district will collaborate with and the community partners' 6 roles in the delivery of the drop-out prevention plan. 7 (6) Other relevant information as determined by the 8 office. 9 (c) Application for drop-out recovery program grants.--A 10 community partner working in conjunction with a school district 11 shall submit the following with the drop-out recovery grant 12 application: 13 (1) A description of the drop-out recovery program that 14 includes a summary of the outreach and referral strategy that 15 will be utilized by the community partner and school district 16 to reengage dropouts into educational programming. 17 (2) A description of the community partner's programs 18 and services currently used for drop-out recovery. 19 (3) A description of how the grant will augment current 20 drop-out recovery programs or create additional drop-out 21 recovery initiatives. 22 (4) In the case where a community partner collaborates 23 with more than one school district to offer a regional drop- 24 out recovery program, a listing of the school districts and 25 community partners that will collaborate and the agreement 26 between the entities designating responsibilities for the 27 program. 28 Section 504. Grant coordinator. 29 Each school district and community partner that receives a 30 grant for a drop-out prevention plan or drop-out recovery 20080H2466B4333 - 14 -
1 program shall appoint a grant coordinator who shall be 2 responsible for the administration of the grant in accordance 3 with the requirements of this act. 4 Section 505. Individual graduation plans. 5 (a) General rule.--Each school district receiving a drop-out 6 prevention grant shall be provided with additional funding to 7 prepare individual graduation plans for at-risk students served 8 by the drop-out prevention plan grant in the school district. 9 (b) Contents.--An individual graduation plan may include, 10 but not be limited to, the following: 11 (1) Identify educational goals and establish personal 12 goals for an at-risk student. 13 (2) Provide tools and assistance in postsecondary and 14 career exploration, including financial aid counseling and 15 assistance. 16 (3) Track assessment results and educational history and 17 provide appropriate monitoring and academic intervention and 18 other evaluation strategies as determined by the school 19 district. 20 (4) Track at-risk student service learning programs, 21 learning-to-work experiences, entrepreneurial experiences and 22 extracurricular and organization activities. 23 (5) Address participation of the at-risk student's 24 parents or guardian, including consideration of the parents' 25 or guardian's educational expectations for the student. 26 (6) Additional requirements as determined by the school 27 district. 28 Section 506. Technical assistance. 29 At the request of a school district, the department shall 30 provide each school district with technical assistance, 20080H2466B4333 - 15 -
1 including, but not limited to, best practices or strategies to 2 assist in the development of an effective drop-out prevention 3 plan or drop-out recovery program, or both, and individual 4 graduation plans for at-risk students that will enhance the 5 school district's ability to meet the diverse needs of its 6 student population and community. Technical assistance shall 7 include research-based alternative options and strategies and 8 may be provided through online training programs. 9 Section 507. Priority funding. 10 School districts and community partners located in school 11 districts that the office determines as having a drop-out rate 12 higher than the State average shall receive priority when 13 considering applications for drop-out prevention plan grants and 14 drop-out recovery program grants. 15 CHAPTER 7 16 ADMINISTRATION 17 Section 701. Reporting. 18 Beginning in the 2010-2011 school year and each school year 19 thereafter, the office shall annually prepare a report and 20 provide a copy of the report to the Education Committee of the 21 Senate and the Education Committee of the House of 22 Representatives and shall post a copy of the report on the 23 department's publicly accessible Internet website by September 1 24 of each year, that contains, at a minimum, the following: 25 (1) All drop-out, graduation and graduation-gap rates 26 reported by school entities, charter schools and cyber 27 charter schools, including school-level data, disaggregated 28 by the factors used to identify an at-risk student and the 29 following classifications: 30 (i) Limited English proficiency. 20080H2466B4333 - 16 -
1 (ii) Low income. 2 (iii) Special education. 3 (iv) Gifted education. 4 (v) Race/ethnicity. 5 (vi) Gender. 6 (vii) School entity. 7 (viii) Geographic area. 8 (2) Highest grade level completed and age prior to 9 dropping out. 10 (3) Number of students served by the drop-out prevention 11 plan and drop-out recovery program grants. 12 (4) Identification of school districts and community 13 partners who received either a drop-out prevention plan grant 14 or a drop-out recovery program grant and the total amount the 15 entities received. 16 (5) An evaluation of the grant dollars' effectiveness in 17 aiding school districts and community partners working in 18 conjunction with school districts to provide successful drop- 19 out prevention plans and drop-out recovery programs. 20 (b) Uniform reporting.--School entities, charter schools and 21 cyber charter schools shall use the definitions and formulas 22 established by the department if no Federal statute, regulation 23 or guideline exists when reporting the graduation, drop-out and 24 graduation-gap rates to the office. School entities, charter 25 schools and cyber charter schools shall report these rates 26 annually, as required by the office, on a form to be developed 27 and provided by the office. 28 (c) Guidelines and standards.--The office may develop any 29 guidelines or standards necessary to implement the requirements 30 of this act. 20080H2466B4333 - 17 -
1 CHAPTER 11
2 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
3 Section 1101. Individualized education program.
4 Notwithstanding section 505, a student's individualized
5 education program developed under 22 Pa. Code Ch. 14 (relating
6 to special education services and programs) may be used as the
7 student's individual graduation plan under this act.
8 Section 1102. Effective date.
9 This act shall take effect July 1, 2008 2009, or immediately, <--
10 whichever is later.
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