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PRINTER'S NO. 1006
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
795
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY BLAKE, HUGHES AND COSTA, JUNE 22, 2017
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, JUNE 22, 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 duties and powers of boards of
school directors, providing for third-party services.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 528. Third-Party Services.--(a) Notwithstanding any
other law of this Commonwealth, a school employer shall not
enter into a contract with a third-party entity for non-
instructional services if the contract will result in the
termination, layoff, furlough or demotion of any employe of the
school employer unless the following conditions are met:
(1) The school employer shall solicit proposals by issuing a
request for proposals. The request for proposals shall be posted
on the school employer's publicly accessible Internet website
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and made publicly available for review at the school employer's
administrative office.
(2) The school employer's request for proposals shall
require each third-party entity to provide:
(i) a minimum three-year cost projection to the school
employer, using generally accepted accounting principles;
(ii) the total number of employes to be employed by the
third-party entity to provide service to the school employer and
the job classification, job description, wages and benefits
applicable to each employment position;
(iii) evidence of liability insurance in scope and amount
equivalent to the liability insurance provided by the school
employer; and
(iv) information concerning any violation of Federal or
State laws or regulations by the third-party entity, information
concerning the safety records of the third-party entity,
composite information about the criminal and disciplinary
records of current employes of the third-party entity who may
perform the non-instructional services currently performed by
employes of the school employer and information concerning any
traffic violations or chargeable accidents that occurred during
the course of employment by individual employes of the third-
party entity.
(3) The school employer shall compare a cost projection
under paragraph (2)(i) with a cost projection for the school
employer providing the non-instructional services in the manner
the services are currently provided during the same period. The
cost comparison shall be made public on the school employer's
publicly accessible Internet website and be made available for
review at the school employer's office no later than thirty (30)
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days before the hearing under paragraph (4).
(4) The school employer shall conduct a minimum of one
public hearing prior to a regularly scheduled board meeting to
present to the public the selected proposal of a third-party
entity to perform the non-instructional services and to receive
public comment. The school employer must provide notice to the
public of the date, time and location of the first public
hearing on or before the initial date that bids to provide the
non-instructional services are solicited or a minimum of thirty
(30) days prior to the public board meeting, whichever provides
a greater period of notice.
(5) The school employer may not cease making contributions
to the share of existing unfunded pension liability, if any,
that is attributable to the past employment of the employes
whose employment is terminated due to a third-party contract.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
school employer from obtaining reimbursement from the third-
party entity for the cost of the contributions to the share of
existing unfunded pension liability, if any, that is
attributable to the past employment of the employes whose
employment is terminated due to a third-party contract.
(b) No contract shall be entered into under this section
unless the contract:
(1) results in financial savings for the school employer;
(2) requires that the third-party entity offer employment to
any school employe whose employment is terminated due to the
third-party contract, in order of seniority, before hiring any
new employe to fill any vacancy for a position that provides
services to the school employer; and
(3) guarantees that the school employer may terminate the
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agreement if costs under the agreement exceed the costs
projected in the cost comparison required under subsection (a)
(3).
(c) The school employer shall, at the conclusion of each
fiscal year, perform an audit of all expenditures to third-party
entities pursuant to contracts entered into under this section.
A report of the audit findings shall be made at the first
regularly scheduled school board meeting following the
conclusion of the fiscal year.
(d) No contract under this section may be entered into for a
period exceeding three years.
(e) The school employer shall provide a minimum of ninety
(90) days' notice to any school employe whose employment may be
terminated as a result of a contract entered into under this
section.
(f) Requests for proposals made, proposals submitted and
contracts entered into or renewed under this section shall be
public records as that term is defined under the act of February
14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or
otherwise affect the rights, remedies and procedures afforded to
school employes or exclusive representatives of employes under
any Federal or State laws, regulations or court orders, or under
the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of
understanding or other agreements between employes and school
employers. Subcontracting shall continue to be a mandatory
subject of collective bargaining under Federal and State labor
laws.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict a
school entity from entering into a contract with a third-party
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entity if the school employer and third-party entity comply with
the provisions of this section.
(i) This section shall not supersede 7 C.F.R. Part 210
(relating to National School Lunch Program), where applicable.
(j) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Non-instructional services" shall not include any
services provided by a professional employe, a substitute or a
temporary professional employe as those terms are defined under
section 1101.
(2) "School employer" shall mean a board of school
directors, an intermediate unit board of directors and an area
vocational-technical board of directors.
(3) "Third-party entity" shall mean a for-profit service
provider, including a business or corporation, which provides
non-instructional services, management or personnel functions.
The term shall not include an individual.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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