PRINTER'S NO. 1905
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1495
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY BLOOM, SACCONE, KNOWLES, MILLARD, STAATS, PICKETT,
MACKENZIE, KAUFFMAN, ORTITAY, CUTLER, WARD, TOPPER, FEE,
ROTHMAN, GROVE, HICKERNELL, MENTZER, McGINNIS, RYAN, DUSH,
ZIMMERMAN, BENNINGHOFF, MOUL, SAYLOR AND COX, JUNE 5, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 5, 2017
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in professional employees, further
providing for causes for suspension, for persons to be
suspended and for appeals to superintendent of public
instruction; and making editorial changes.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 1124, 1125.1 and 1131 of the act of
March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code
of 1949, are amended to read:
Section 1124. Causes for Suspension.--(a) Any board of
school directors may suspend the necessary number of
professional employes, for any of the causes hereinafter
enumerated:
(1) substantial decrease in pupil enrollment in the school
district;
(2) curtailment or alteration of the educational program on
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recommendation of the superintendent and on concurrence by the
board of school directors, as a result of substantial decline in
class or course enrollments or to conform with standards of
organization or educational activities required by law or
recommended by the Department of [Public Instruction] Education;
(3) consolidation of schools, whether within a single
district, through a merger of districts, or as a result of joint
board agreements, when such consolidation makes it unnecessary
to retain the full staff of professional employes; [or]
(4) when new school districts are established as the result
of reorganization of school districts pursuant to Article II.,
subdivision (i) of this act, and when such reorganization makes
it unnecessary to retain the full staff of professional
employes[.]; or
(5) economic reasons that require a reduction in
professional employes.
(a.1) A school district may not use an employe's
compensation in determining which professional employes to
suspend, but shall use the procedures in section 1125.1 to
determine the order in which professional employes are
suspended.
(b) Notwithstanding an existing or future provision in a
collective bargaining agreement or other similar employment
contract to the contrary, suspension of a professional employe
due to the curtailment or alteration of the educational program
as set forth in subsection (a)(2) may be effectuated without the
approval of the curtailment or alteration of the educational
program by the Department of Education, provided that, where an
educational program is altered or curtailed as set forth in
subsection (a)(2), the school district shall notify the
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Department of Education of the actions taken pursuant to
subsection (a)(2). The Department of Education shall post all
notifications received from a school district pursuant to this
subsection on the Department of Education's publicly accessible
Internet website.
(c) The following shall apply in the case of a suspension
pursuant to subsection (a)(5) in which a board of school
directors suspends professional employes who are assigned to
provide instruction directly to students:
(1) A board of school directors may suspend the necessary
number of professional employes assigned to provide instruction
directly to students only if the board of school directors also
suspends at least an equal percentage proportion of
administrative staff.
(2) The Secretary of Education may grant a board of school
directors a waiver of paragraph (1) if all of the following
apply:
(i) The Secretary of Education determines that the school
district's operations are already sufficiently streamlined or
the suspension of administrative staff pursuant to paragraph (1)
would cause harm to school stability and student programs.
(ii) The Secretary of Education submits the determination to
the State Board of Education.
(iii) The State Board of Education approves the
determination by a majority of its members.
(3) Any five administrative staff positions selected by the
board of school directors, one of whom shall be the business
manager of the school district or another staff member with the
primary responsibility of managing the business operations of
the school district, shall be exempt from the requirements of
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paragraph (1).
(d) A board of school directors may suspend professional
employes pursuant to subsection (a)(5) only if all of the
following apply:
(1) The board of school directors approves the proposed
suspensions by a majority vote of all school directors at a
public meeting of the board of school directors.
(2) No later than sixty (60) days prior to the date of
adoption of a final budget, the board of school directors has
adopted a resolution of intent to suspend professional employes
in the following fiscal year, which shall set forth the
following:
(i) The economic conditions of the school district making
the proposed suspensions necessary and how those economic
conditions will be alleviated by the proposed suspensions,
including:
(A) The total cost savings expected to result from the
proposed suspensions.
(B) A description of other cost-saving actions taken by the
board of school directors, if any.
(C) The projected expenditures of the school district for
the following fiscal year with and without the proposed
suspensions.
(D) The projected total revenues of the school district for
the following fiscal year.
(ii) The number and percentage of employes to be suspended
who are professional employes assigned to provide instruction
directly to students.
(iii) The number and percentage of employes to be suspended
who are administrative staff.
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(iv) The number and percentage of employes to be suspended
who are professional employes who are not assigned to provide
instruction directly to students and who are not administrative
staff.
(v) The impact of the proposed suspensions on academic
programs to be offered to students following the proposed
suspensions, as well as the impact on academic programs to be
offered to students if the proposed suspensions are not
undertaken, compared to the current school year, and the
actions, if any, that will be taken to minimize the impact on
student achievement.
(e) Following the 2021-2022 school year, the Legislative
Budget and Finance Committee shall conduct a study of the
effectiveness of the provisions of subsections (a)(5), (c) and
(d) and section 1125.1, including whether these provisions of
law are being used effectively by school districts to improve
school district efficiency and the impact of these provisions on
programs offered to students, as well as the impact on programs
that would have been offered to students if these provisions had
not been enacted, if such information is available, and shall
deliver a written report of its findings to the Governor, the
chairperson and minority chairperson of the Education Committee
of the Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of
the Education Committee of the House of Representatives by
December 31, 2022.
(f) (1) A collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a
school district and an exclusive representative of professional
employes in accordance with the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563,
No.195), known as the "Public Employe Relations Act," after the
effective date of this subsection may not prohibit the
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suspension of professional employes for economic reasons other
than as provided for in this section.
(2) A provision in any agreement or contract in effect on
the effective date of this subsection that prohibits the
suspension of professional employes for economic reasons in
conflict with this section shall be discontinued in any new or
renewed agreement or contract or during the period of status quo
following an expired contract.
Section 1125.1. Persons to be Suspended.--(a) Professional
employes shall be suspended under section 1124 [(relating to
causes for suspension) in inverse order of seniority within the
school entity of current employment. Approved leaves of absence
shall not constitute a break in service for purposes of
computing seniority for suspension purposes.] in the following
order, within the area of certification required by law for the
professional employe's current position:
(1) Each professional employe who received, on the
professional employe's two most recent annual performance
evaluations, consecutive ratings that are considered
unsatisfactory pursuant to section 1123 shall be suspended
first.
(2) After suspending professional employes under paragraph
(1), each professional employe who received, on the professional
employe's two most recent annual performance evaluations, one
rating that is considered unsatisfactory pursuant to section
1123 and one rating that is considered satisfactory pursuant to
section 1123 shall be suspended second.
(3) After suspending professional employes pursuant to
paragraph (2), each professional employe who received, on the
professional employe's two most recent annual performance
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evaluations, consecutive ratings that are considered
satisfactory pursuant to section 1123, but one of which is a
rating of "needs improvement" pursuant to section 1123, shall be
suspended third.
(4) After suspending professional employes pursuant to
paragraph (3), each professional employe who received, on the
professional employe's two most recent annual performance
evaluations, consecutive ratings that are considered
satisfactory pursuant to section 1123, and which are both
ratings of "proficient" or "distinguished" pursuant to section
1123, shall be suspended last.
(a.1) When more professional employes receive the same
overall performance rating than there are suspensions, seniority
within the school entity and within the area of certification
required by law for the professional employe's current position
shall be used to determine suspensions among professional
employes with the same overall performance rating on the
professional employe's two most recent annual performance
evaluations pursuant to section 1123. An approved leave of
absence shall not constitute a break in service for purposes of
computing seniority for suspension purposes.
(a.2) Seniority shall continue to accrue during suspension
and all approved leaves of absence.
(b) Where there is or has been a consolidation of schools,
departments or programs, all professional employes shall retain
the seniority rights they had prior to the reorganization or
consolidation.
[(c) A school entity shall realign its professional staff so
as to insure that more senior employes are provided with the
opportunity to fill positions for which they are certificated
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and which are being filled by less senior employes.]
(d) (1) No suspended employe shall be prevented from
engaging in another occupation during the period of suspension.
(2) Suspended professional employes or professional employes
demoted for the reasons set forth in section 1124 shall be
reinstated [on the basis of their seniority within the school
entity.] in the following order, within the area of
certification required by law for the vacancy being filled and
within the school entity:
(i) Professional employes suspended pursuant to subsection
(a)(4) shall be reinstated first, on the basis of their
seniority within the school entity.
(ii) After reinstating professional employes under subclause
(i), professional employes suspended pursuant to subsection (a)
(3) shall be reinstated second, on the basis of their seniority
within the school entity.
(iii) After reinstating professional employes under
subclause (ii), professional employes suspended pursuant to
subsection (a)(2) shall be reinstated third, on the basis of
their seniority within the school entity.
(iv) After reinstating professional employes under subclause
(iii), professional employes suspended pursuant to subsection
(a)(1) shall be reinstated last, on the basis of their seniority
within the school entity.
No new appointment shall be made while there is such a suspended
or demoted professional employe available who is properly
certificated to fill such vacancy. For the purpose of this
subsection, positions from which professional employes are on
approved leaves of absence shall also be considered temporary
vacancies.
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(3) To be considered available a suspended professional
employe must annually report to the governing board in writing
his current address and his intent to accept the same or similar
position when offered.
(4) A suspended employe enrolled in a college program during
a period of suspension and who is recalled shall be given the
option of delaying his return to service until the end of the
current semester.
(e) Nothing contained in [section 1125.1(a) through (d)]
this section shall be construed to:
(1) limit the cause for which a temporary professional
employe may be suspended; or
(2) supersede or preempt any provisions of a collective
bargaining agreement negotiated by a school entity and an
exclusive representative of the employes in accordance with the
act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the "Public
Employe Relations Act"; however, no agreement shall prohibit the
right of a professional employe who is not a member of a
bargaining unit from retaining seniority rights under the
provisions of this act.
(f) A decision to suspend in accordance with this section
shall be considered an adjudication within the meaning of the
"Local Agency Law."
(g) (1) No collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a
school district and an exclusive representative of the employes
in accordance with the "Public Employe Relations Act" after the
effective date of this subsection shall provide for suspending,
reinstating or realigning professional employes based on
seniority other than as provided for in this section.
(2) Upon the expiration, amendment or adoption of any
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agreement or contract, a provision that provides for suspending,
reinstating or realigning professional employes based on
seniority in conflict with section 1124 or this section shall be
discontinued in any new or renewed agreement or contract or
during the period of status quo following an expired contract.
Section 1131. Appeals to [Superintendent of Public
Instruction] Secretary of Education.--In case the professional
employe concerned considers himself or herself aggrieved by the
action of the board of school directors, an appeal by petition,
setting forth the grounds for such appeal, may be taken to the
[Superintendent of Public Instruction] Secretary of Education at
Harrisburg. Such appeal shall be filed within [thirty (30)]
fifteen (15) days after receipt by registered mail of the
written notice of the decision of the board. A copy of such
appeal shall be served by registered mail on the secretary of
the school board.
The [Superintendent of Public Instruction] Secretary of
Education shall fix a day and time for hearing, which shall be
not sooner than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days
after presentation of such petition, and shall give written
notice to all parties interested.
The [Superintendent of Public Instruction] Secretary of
Education shall review the official transcript of the record of
the hearing before the board, and may hear and consider such
additional testimony as he may deem advisable to enable him to
make a proper order. At said hearing the litigants shall have
the right to be heard in person or by counsel or both.
After hearing and argument and reviewing all the testimony
filed or taken before him, the [Superintendent of Public
Instruction] Secretary of Education shall enter such order,
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either affirming or reversing the action of the board of school
directors, as to him appears just and proper.
Section 2. This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) The addition of sections 1124(f) and 1125.1(g) of
the act shall take effect immediately.
(2) This section shall take effect immediately.
(3) The remainder of this act shall take effect June 30,
2017, or immediately, whichever is later.
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