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                                                       PRINTER'S NO. 974

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


SENATE BILL

No. 839 Session of 2007


        INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, MELLOW, LOGAN, STOUT, FERLO, WOZNIAK,
           MUSTO, STACK, COSTA AND TARTAGLIONE, MAY 4, 2007

        REFERRED TO EDUCATION, MAY 4, 2007

                                     AN ACT

     1  Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
     2     act relating to the public school system, including certain
     3     provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
     4     schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
     5     laws relating thereto," further providing for eligibility and
     6     for qualifications; and providing for continuing professional
     7     development for school and system leaders and for
     8     Pennsylvania school leadership standards.

     9     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
    10  hereby enacts as follows:
    11     Section 1.  Section 1003 of the act of March 10, 1949
    12  (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949,
    13  amended December 19, 1975 (P.L.511, No.150), is amended to read:
    14     Section 1003.  Eligibility.--No person shall be eligible for
    15  election or appointment as a district, or assistant district
    16  superintendent, unless--
    17     (1)  He holds a diploma from a college or other institution
    18  approved by the Department of Education;
    19     (2)  He has had six (6) years' successful teaching
    20  experience, not less than three of which shall have been in a


     1  supervisory or administrative capacity;
     2     (3)  He has completed in a college or university a graduate
     3  [course] program in education approved by the Department of
     4  Education[;] that includes the Pennsylvania school leadership
     5  standards under section 1217. Completion of the program shall
     6  not be subject to waiver under section 1714-B unless the
     7  candidate provides to the Secretary of Education evidence that
     8  he has successfully completed an equivalent leadership
     9  development program that addresses the school leadership
    10  standards under section 1217.
    11     (4)  Provided that in school districts of the first class,
    12  five (5) years of administrative experience at the level of
    13  assistant, associate or deputy superintendent, may be
    14  substituted for prescribed graduate administrative courses, and
    15  which shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of Education
    16  to review these equivalences to conform with State board
    17  regulations.
    18     Serving either as county, district, or assistant county or
    19  district superintendent, or associate superintendent, in this
    20  Commonwealth, at the time this act becomes effective, shall,
    21  irrespective of the foregoing requirements, be considered
    22  sufficient qualification for any of the aforesaid offices.
    23     Section 2.  Section 1109 of the act, amended March 19, 1970
    24  (P.L.189, No.73), is amended to read:
    25     Section 1109.  Qualifications.--(a)  Every teacher employed
    26  to teach in the public schools of this Commonwealth must be a
    27  person of good moral character, must be at least eighteen years
    28  of age, and must be a citizen of the United States: Provided,
    29  That citizenship may be waived in the case of exchange teachers
    30  not permanently employed, and teachers employed for the purpose
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     1  of teaching foreign languages, including special teachers who
     2  speak the idiomatic or colloquial language of immigrants
     3  residing in the school district, and employed for the purpose of
     4  easing the transition period of such immigrants.
     5     (b)  Every principal appointed after August thirty-first, one
     6  thousand nine hundred fifty-three, employed in the public
     7  schools of this Commonwealth, who devotes one-half or more of
     8  his time to supervision and administration, shall be properly
     9  certificated by the Department of Public Instruction in
    10  accordance with such standards as the State Board of Education
    11  may establish.
    12     (c)  Individuals who were granted an administrative
    13  certificate by the Department of Education prior to January 1,
    14  2008, and who are employed for the first time in a position of
    15  principal, vice principal or assistant principal in a public
    16  school of this Commonwealth on or after January 1, 2008, shall
    17  complete the induction program provided for in subsection (f)
    18  within five years of appointment as a principal, vice principal
    19  or assistant principal.
    20     (d)  Individuals who apply on or after January 1, 2008, for a
    21  certificate to become eligible to serve as a principal, vice
    22  principal or assistant principal in a public school in this
    23  Commonwealth and who otherwise meet the requirements for such
    24  certificate shall be issued an Administrative I certificate. No
    25  individual may serve as a principal, vice principal or assistant
    26  principal on an Administrative I certificate for more than five
    27  school years.
    28     (e)  The holder of an Administrative I certificate shall be
    29  issued an Administrative II certificate upon application to the
    30  Department of Education verifying three years of satisfactory
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     1  service on an Administrative I certificate and successful
     2  completion of the induction program described in subsection (f).
     3     (f)  The Department of Education shall design and offer an
     4  induction program at no cost to those principals, vice
     5  principals and assistant principals who participate and at no
     6  cost to their employer school entities and shall approve other
     7  providers to offer induction programs. All induction programs
     8  shall be designed to aid in development in the core school
     9  leadership standards identified in section 1217(a)(1).
    10  Participants in an induction program shall not be required to
    11  attend more than thirty-six (36) hours of induction during any
    12  one school year or a total of one hundred eight (108) hours.
    13  Hours of participation in an induction program shall be applied
    14  toward meeting the certificate holder's continuing professional
    15  education requirements under section 1205.2.
    16     Section 3.  The act is amended by adding sections to read:
    17     Section 1205.5.  Continuing Professional Development for
    18  School and System Leaders.--(a)  Beginning January 1, 2008,
    19  every school and system leader shall meet the continuing
    20  professional education requirements of section 1205.2 through
    21  participation in programs approved in accordance with this
    22  section. For any certificate holder who serves in both
    23  administrative and nonadministrative positions during a
    24  compliance period as defined in section 1205.2, the certificate
    25  holder's continuing education credit requirements shall be
    26  earned in programs approved in accordance with this section in
    27  no less than the same proportion as the proportion of the
    28  compliance period during which the certificate holder served on
    29  an administrative certificate or letter of eligibility.
    30     (b)  For the compliance period in effect on January 1, 2008,
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     1  this section shall only apply to any credits or hours needed to
     2  satisfy the unmet requirements of the current compliance period.
     3     (c)  The Department of Education shall design and offer
     4  continuing professional development programs at no cost to
     5  school and system leaders who are required by this section to
     6  participate and at no cost to their employer school entities. In
     7  the event that individuals are unable to access these programs
     8  because all available slots are filled, the individual may
     9  request and shall be granted upon review by the department an
    10  extension of the compliance period.
    11     (d)  The Department of Education shall approve other
    12  providers to offer induction and continuing professional
    13  development programs for school and system leaders and shall
    14  annually publish a list of approved providers.
    15     (e)  All programs offered or approved by the Department of
    16  Education under this section shall address the Pennsylvania
    17  school leadership standards pursuant to section 1217.
    18     (f)  The Secretary of Education may adopt standards as
    19  necessary to implement this section.
    20     (g)  For the purpose of this section, school and system
    21  leaders shall include any individual serving on a certificate as
    22  a principal, vice principal, assistant principal,
    23  superintendent, assistant superintendent, intermediate unit
    24  executive director, assistant intermediate unit executive
    25  director or director of an area vocational-technical school.
    26     Section 1217.  Pennsylvania School Leadership Standards.--(a)
    27  Programs provided under section 1205.5(c) and (d) to prepare
    28  school and system leaders and for purposes of issuing
    29  administrator certificates or letters of eligibility and
    30  approved programs for the induction and continuing professional
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     1  development of school and system leaders shall address:
     2     (1)  The following core standards:
     3     (i)  The knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically
     4  creating an organizational vision around personalized student
     5  success.
     6     (ii)  An understanding of standards-based systems theory and
     7  design and the ability to transfer that knowledge to the
     8  leader's job as the architect of standards-based reform in the
     9  school.
    10     (iii)  The ability to access and use appropriate data to
    11  inform decision-making at all levels of the system.
    12     (2)  The following corollary standards:
    13     (i)  Creating a culture of teaching and learning with an
    14  emphasis on learning.
    15     (ii)  Managing resources for effective results.
    16     (iii)  Collaborating, communicating, engaging and empowering
    17  others inside and outside of the organization to pursue
    18  excellence in learning.
    19     (iv)  Operating in a fair and equitable manner with personal
    20  and professional integrity.
    21     (v)  Advocating for children and public education in the
    22  larger political, social, economic, legal and cultural context.
    23     (vi)  Supporting professional growth of self and others
    24  through practice and inquiry.
    25     (b)  The State Board of Education may promulgate regulations
    26  to carry out the provisions of this section.
    27     (c)  For the purpose of this section, school and system
    28  leaders shall include any individual serving on a certificate as
    29  a principal, vice principal, assistant principal,
    30  superintendent, assistant superintendent, intermediate unit
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     1  executive director, assistant intermediate unit executive
     2  director or director of an area vocational-technical school.
     3     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007, or
     4  immediately, whichever is later.


















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