THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY SCHRODER, AUMENT, BLOOM, BOYD, CAUSER, COX, CREIGHTON, EVERETT, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GROVE, HARRIS, HICKERNELL, KAUFFMAN, KNOWLES, KRIEGER, LAWRENCE, MARSICO, MILLER, MILNE, MUSTIO, PICKETT, REICHLEY, ROAE, ROSS, SACCONE, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SIMMONS, SWANGER AND VULAKOVICH, MAY 25, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MAY 25, 2011  

AN ACT

Providing for the suspension of mandates by school entities;

requiring the Department of Education to maintain a list of

suspended mandates on its Internet website and to report

annually to the General Assembly the mandates suspended by

the school entities.

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 Mandate

Suspension Act of 2011.

Section 2.  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:

"Board."  The board of school directors or other governing

board of a school entity.

"Commonwealth agency."  An executive agency or independent

agency of the Commonwealth.

"Department."  The Department of Education of the

Commonwealth.

"Executive agency."  The Governor and any department, board,

commission, authority, officer and agency of the Commonwealth

government. The term does not include a court or other officer

or agency of the unified judicial system, the General Assembly

and any of its officers and agencies or any independent agency.

"Independent agency."  A board, commission, authority and any

other agency and officer of the Commonwealth government which is

not subject to the policy supervision and control of the

Governor. The term does not include any court or other officer

or agency of the unified judicial system or the General Assembly

and any of its officers and agencies.

"Mandate."  A duty, standard or procedure imposed by a law or

regulation enacted by the General Assembly or promulgated by a

Commonwealth agency the effect of which requires that a school

entity conduct or fulfill its authorized activities,

responsibilities, purposes or functions in a manner that

increases the entity's cost of doing so or prevents the entity

from doing so in a more cost-effective or educationally

effective manner. The term does not include any limit on a rate

of taxation or the manner of adopting or levying a tax or rate

of taxation.

"Oversight agency."  The Commonwealth agency which does any

of the following:

(1)  Administers or has jurisdiction over the law or

regulation pursuant to which a school entity is to implement

a mandate.

(2)  Has the duty to make reimbursement payments to a

school entity pursuant to a regularly scheduled reimbursement

regimen.

(3)  Has a duty to monitor a school entity's compliance

with implementation of a mandate.

"Public officer."  An elected or appointed school board

member as provided by State law.

"Regulation."  A regulation, rule, standard, policy,

guideline, basic education circular, schedule, manual or similar

document promulgated or issued by a Commonwealth agency.

"School entity."  A school district, joint school district,

career and technical school or intermediate unit.

Section 3.  Mandate suspension resolution.

(a)  Motion.--Except as otherwise provided in this section,

the board of a school entity may adopt at a public meeting a

resolution to suspend any mandate or combination of related

mandates if doing so will enable the school entity to improve

its instructional program or operate in a more effective,

efficient or economical manner.

(b)  Memorandum.--The resolution suspending the mandate or

combination of related mandates shall incorporate by reference

and have attached thereto a mandate suspension justification

memorandum that:

(1)  Identifies with specificity the regulation, rule,

procedure, standard, policy, guideline, basic education

circular, schedule, manual or similar document, or

combination thereof, that imposes the mandate or combination

of mandates to be suspended.

(2)  Describes how the mandate or combination of mandates

causes the entity to conduct or fulfill its authorized

activities, responsibilities, purposes or functions in a

manner that increases the entity's cost of doing so, or

prevents the entity from doing so in a more cost-effective or

educationally effective manner.

(3)  Describes how suspension of the mandate or

combination of mandates will enable the entity to operate in

a different manner that will improve educational

effectiveness or cost effectiveness.

(4)  Specifies the date the suspension of the mandate or

combination of mandates will expire or states that the

suspension will be indefinite.

(5)  Outlines the procedures by the economic and

educational benefits of suspending the mandate or combination

of mandates will be assessed, measured and reported on an

ongoing basis.

(c)  Deemed approved.--Unless the suspension is disapproved

by the department as provided in section 5, suspension of the

mandates pursuant to a resolution adopted under this section

shall take effect 60 days after the department receives notice

of such resolution or upon such later date as many be specified

in the resolution.

(d)  Effective.--Unless a mandate suspension is disapproved,

expires or is resumed under section 7, the suspension shall

remain in effect indefinitely.

(e)  Renewal.--The board of the school entity may renew a

mandate suspension that has expired or is set to expire by

adopting a mandate suspension resolution in the same manner set

forth in this act.

(f)  Public input.--The board of the school entity may, at

its discretion, conduct a public hearing for the purpose of

receiving input regarding whether the mandate or mandates should

be suspended.

(g)  Public access.--Mandate suspension resolutions and any

departmental determinations related thereto shall be posted on

the school entity's Internet website and be accessible to the

public.

Section 4.  Notice to the department and oversight agency;

objections.

(a)  Notice.--A school entity adopting a mandate suspension

resolution shall promptly provide a copy of the resolution and

suspension justification memorandum to the department and any

other oversight agency by certified mail, return receipt

requested.

(b)  Objections.--An oversight agency receiving notice of a

mandate suspension resolution may, within 30 days of receipt,

submit objections to the department. Objections shall state with

particularity any respect in which the mandate suspension fails

to meet the requirements of this act.

Section 5.  Actions by department.

(a)  Disapproval.--The department may, within 60 days of

receipt of a mandate suspension resolution and upon

consideration of objectives, if any, disapprove the resolution

if the department determines that the resolution fails to meet

the requirements of this act.

(b)  Effect.--If the department disapproves a mandate

suspension resolution, the mandate or combination of mandates

shall not be suspended and the school entity shall continue to

be subject to the mandate as otherwise applicable.

(c)  Deemed approved.--If the department does not disapprove

a mandate suspension resolution within 60 days of receipt, the

mandate or combination of mandates shall be suspended and shall

no longer apply to the school entity unless the mandate

suspension expires in accordance with the terms of the mandate

suspension resolution or is resumed under section 7.

(d)  Appeal.--Disapproval of mandate suspension resolutions

may be appealed by the school entity as provided by law.

Section 6.  Reporting success of suspended mandates.

(a)  Reporting.--Whenever any mandate or combination of

mandates is suspended under this act, the school entity shall,

on an ongoing basis, assess and measure the economic and

educational benefits of suspending the mandate or combination of

mandates, and shall prepare a report of the benefits on the

third anniversary of the effective date of the suspension and

each third anniversary thereafter.

(b)  Submission.--Reports of the benefits of each mandate

suspension shall be submitted to the department within 90 days

after the third anniversary of the effective date of the

suspension and each third anniversary thereafter.

Section 7.  Resumption of suspended mandates.

(a)  Effectiveness of suspension.--The mandate or combination

of mandates shall resume upon the expiration of the mandate

suspension as set forth in the mandate suspension resolution or

if one or more of the following occurs:

(1)  The governing board of the school entity adopts a

resolution terminating the mandate suspension.

(2)  A final determination of the department that the

entity has failed to submit a report of effectiveness as

required or has not enabled the entity to operate in a

different manner that improved educational effectiveness or

cost effectiveness.

(b)  Notification to school entity.--The department shall

notify the school entity of any determination by the department

that the effect of a mandate suspension has not been measured

and reported as required or has not had the intended effect and

shall conduct a hearing thereon if requested by the school

entity. 

(c)  Appeal.--A determination by the department that the

effect of a mandate suspension has not been measured and

reported as required or has not had the intended effect may be

appealed by the school entity as provided by law.

(d)  Notice of resumption.--A school entity shall notify the

department and any oversight agency in writing when the

effectiveness of a mandate or combination of mandates is resumed

under this act. Such notice shall include a copy of any solution

terminating the suspension or of any final determination of the

department that the effect of a mandate suspension has not been

measured and reported as required or has not had the intended

effect.

Section 8.  Mandate suspension register.

(a)  Creation.--No later than 90 days after the effective

date of this act, the department shall create a searchable

register of suspended mandates for which it has received notice,

searchable and accessible to the public, via the department's

Internet website, from which website visitors may find for each

school district the mandates that have been suspended, the date

the suspension took effect, the expiration, if any, and the

date, if any, the mandate resumed.

(b)  Links.--All listings of mandates on the mandate

suspension register shall include a link to the mandate

suspension resolution posted on the school entity's Internet

website and any determinations of the department related

thereto.

Section 9.  Mandates not subject to suspension.

Mandates may not be suspended as provided in this act to the

extent they are imposed by the following:

(1)  A court order.

(2)  Federal law or Federal regulation.

(3)  The Constitution of the United States.

(4)  The Constitution of Pennsylvania.

(5)  A law or regulation concerning the form,

organization, reorganization or structure of a school entity. 

(6)  A law or regulation governing elections.

(7)  A law or regulation designating a public officer or

a duty or power of a public officer or the incompatible

offices of a public employee.

(8)  A law or regulation regarding the ethics of a public

official or employee or the protection of the public from

malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance by a public official

or employee of a school district.

(9)  The provisions set forth in 2 Pa.C.S. Chs. 5 Subch.

B (relating to practice and procedure of local agencies) and

7 Subch. B (relating to judicial review of local agency

action) and other laws or regulations proscribing practices

and procedures relating to meetings, hearings and other

administrative adjudications on behalf of a school entity or

agency of a school entity.

(10)  A law or regulation that involves the

administration of justice or procedures for administration

and judicial review of actions taken by a school entity.

(11)  An existing contract, including a collective

bargaining agreement.

(12)  The right to collectively bargain.

(13)  The provisions of the act of act of June 2, 1915

(P.L.736, No.338), known as the Workers' Compensation Act,

and its regulations.

(14)  The provisions of the act of act of December 5,

1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the

Unemployment Compensation Law, and its regulations.

(15)  The provisions of the act of November 10, 1999

(P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania Construction Code

Act, and any regulations promulgated under that act.

(16)  A law or regulation related to public health and

safety, such as mandatory immunization of students.

(17)  A law or regulation pertaining to the substantive

or procedural due process rights of students or employees.

(18)  The provisions of the act of October 15, 1998

(P.L.729, No.93), known as the Sunshine Act.

(19)  The provisions of Chapter 7 of the act of act of

February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know

Law, and any regulations promulgated under that act.

(20)  A law or regulation setting forth time lines and

notice requirements for the adoption of budgets by a school

district.

(21)  A law or regulation requiring liability insurance.

(22)  A law or regulation governing hazardous walking

routes for students.

(23)  A law or regulation governing academic standards

and assessments.

(24)  A law or regulation governing student attendance.

(25)  A law governing charter school tuition payments.

(26)  The provisions of this act.

Section 10.  Liability and immunity. 

Nothing in this act nor any actions taken under this act,

including, but not limited to, the suspension of any mandate,

resumption of a mandate or the termination of suspension of a

mandate, shall have the effect of modifying, enlarging or

diminishing an existing legal basis for determining any aspect

of the civil or criminal liability of the Commonwealth, school

entities and officials or employees of the Commonwealth and

school entities.

Section 11.  Effectiveness.

A suspension of mandates in accordance with this act shall

remain in effect notwithstanding the repeal, amendment or

expiration of this act.

Section 12.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 30 days.