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| PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 458 | PRINTER'S NO. 1330 |
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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY WASHINGTON, BOSCOLA, COSTA, ERICKSON, GREENLEAF, TARTAGLIONE, M. WHITE, WILLIAMS, FERLO AND FARNESE, FEBRUARY 10, 2011 |
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| SENATOR PICCOLA, EDUCATION, AS AMENDED, JUNE 14, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Establishing the MESA Initiative; providing for duties of the |
2 | Department of Education; and establishing the State MESA |
3 | Commission. |
4 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
5 | hereby enacts as follows: |
6 | Section 1. Short title. |
7 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Pennsylvania |
8 | MESA Initiative Act. |
9 | Section 2. Definitions. |
10 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
11 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
12 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
13 | "Commission." The State MESA Commission established under |
14 | section 5. |
15 | "Department." The Department of Education of the |
16 | Commonwealth. |
17 | "MESA." Mathematics, engineering and science achievement. |
18 | "MESA Initiative." The program established under section 3 |
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1 | to promote science, engineering and mathematics education. |
2 | "STEM." Science, technology, engineering and mathematics. |
3 | Section 3. MESA Initiative. |
4 | The MESA Initiative is hereby established Not later than 18 | <-- |
5 | months from the effective date of this act, the department shall |
6 | establish the MESA Initiative as a program within the |
7 | department. The MESA Initiative shall seek to increase exposure, |
8 | educational motivation and achievement of students in science, |
9 | engineering and mathematics and build individual and regional |
10 | capacity to compete for STEM-based jobs in the global market |
11 | with a particular emphasis on students, parents, educators and |
12 | employers from urban and rural groups who have historically had |
13 | the lowest levels of high school degree attainment and |
14 | participation in college and graduate education. |
15 | Section 4. Administration of MESA Initiative. |
16 | (a) Designation of administrative agency.--The department | <-- |
17 | shall administer the MESA Initiative, including Statewide MESA |
18 | funding, operations, regional groups, programs and evaluations. |
19 | (b) (a) Coordination.--The department shall coordinate the | <-- |
20 | efforts of the all Commonwealth agencies that relate to MESA | <-- |
21 | education from the kindergarten level through the graduate level | <-- |
22 | kindergarten through grade 12 and with institutions of higher | <-- |
23 | education to avoid unnecessary duplication of initiatives and |
24 | ensure adherence to established guidelines. |
25 | (c) (b) Structure of STEM regions.--The department shall | <-- |
26 | work with the TEAM PA Foundation and the five established STEM |
27 | regions in this Commonwealth to create in each STEM region an |
28 | infrastructure for the MESA Initiative to support not fewer than | <-- |
29 | four professional staff, 20 retired industry mentors, 20 |
30 | certified MESA teacher-coordinators and school administrators. |
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1 | (d) Duties.--The department shall have the following duties | <-- |
2 | (c) Duties.--In consultation with the commission, Commonwealth | <-- |
3 | agencies, institutions of higher education, the TEAM PA |
4 | Foundation and the STEM regions, the department shall: |
5 | (1) Develop annual goals and objectives for improving |
6 | MESA programs throughout this Commonwealth with particular |
7 | emphasis on regional economic and educational needs. |
8 | (2) No later than 30 days after developing the goals and |
9 | objectives under paragraph (1): | <-- |
10 | (i) Disseminate the goals and objectives to the |
11 | State MESA Commission and the MESA regions. |
12 | (ii) Communicate the goals and objectives to all |
13 | relevant agencies of the Commonwealth and collaborative |
14 | regional entities. |
15 | (iii) Make the goals and objectives available to the |
16 | general public, particularly to stakeholders., |
17 | communicate the goals and objectives to all relevant agencies | <-- |
18 | of the Commonwealth, the STEM regions and the public by |
19 | making the goals and objectives available on the department's |
20 | publicly accessible Internet website. |
21 | (3) Coordinate and facilitate communication and |
22 | cooperation among all MESA regions and assure compliance with |
23 | established guidelines for the MESA Initiative. |
24 | (4) Conduct an ongoing inventory and assessment of the |
25 | effectiveness and coherence of efforts within the MESA |
26 | regions. |
27 | (5) Annually After an initial evaluation, biennially | <-- |
28 | evaluate the progress and success of the MESA regions at |
29 | achieving the goals and objectives under paragraph (1). |
30 | (6) Consult with Commonwealth agencies when developing | <-- |
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1 | policies and initiatives related to MESA. |
2 | (7) (6) Strengthen partnerships between the national | <-- |
3 | MESA community, Federal, State and local governments and |
4 | relevant international partners. |
5 | (8) Conduct an annual meeting on the status of the MESA | <-- |
6 | Initiative, in conjunction with: |
7 | (i) Relevant State agencies. |
8 | (ii) The State MESA Commission, as hosting entity. |
9 | (iii) Other state MESA Initiatives. |
10 | (iv) Regional businesses and industries. |
11 | (v) The State System of Higher Education. |
12 | (vi) Education professionals from the kindergarten |
13 | through graduate levels. |
14 | (vii) Other relevant stakeholders. |
15 | Section 5. State MESA Commission. |
16 | (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established a State MESA | <-- |
17 | Commission to oversee the advancement of mathematics, |
18 | engineering, science and technology education. |
19 | (b) Membership.--The commission shall consist of the |
20 | following members: |
21 | (a) Establishment.--There is established within the State | <-- |
22 | Board of Education under the Council of Basic Education a State |
23 | MESA Commission to oversee the advancement of science, |
24 | technology, engineering and mathematics education. |
25 | (b) Membership.--The commission shall consist of not more |
26 | than 20 members, including the following: |
27 | (1) Not fewer than two representatives from each MESA | <-- |
28 | region. Two representatives from each STEM. | <-- |
29 | (2) Elected officials, representatives of the department |
30 | and stakeholders as appointed by the department. |
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1 | (c) Study.--The commission shall evaluate and report to the |
2 | General Assembly annually biennially on the following: | <-- |
3 | (1) Efficacy of Statewide MESA Initiatives. |
4 | (2) Effective utilization of MESA Initiative resources. |
5 | (3) Influence of the MESA Initiative on: |
6 | (i) Student STEM aptitudes, as measured by |
7 | standardized testing. |
8 | (ii) Teacher effectiveness. |
9 | (iii) STEM-based employment within MESA regions. |
10 | (d) Fiscal planning.--The commission shall propose a budget | <-- |
11 | for the MESA Initiative aligned with the goals developed under |
12 | section 4(d)(1). |
13 | (e) (d) Meetings.--The commission shall meet no less often | <-- |
14 | than quarterly. |
15 | Section 6. Effective date. |
16 | This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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