PRINTER'S NO. 3124
No. 2431 Session of 1978
INTRODUCED BY RHODES, SCIRICA, WHITE, HASKELL, DeWEESE AND
RICHARDSON, APRIL 18, 1978
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 18, 1978
AN ACT
1 Creating a separate and independent school district and a school
2 board for correctional institutions and facilities to operate
3 schools at correctional institutions and facilities,
4 declaring who shall be eligible to attend the same, assigning
5 certain duties to the Secretary of Education, providing for
6 grants and gifts from public and private sources, authorizing
7 the district to enter into contracts, providing for State
8 support of certain district costs and making an
9 appropriation.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. Creation of a separate and independent school
13 district and school board.
14 A separate school district to be known as the "School
15 District for the State Correctional Institutions," hereinafter
16 referred to as the school district, shall be created to operate
17 educational programs in adult correctional facilities. The
18 Attorney General, the Commissioner of Correction, the Secretary
19 of Education, and the Commissioner for Basic Education shall be
20 ex officio members of the school board for the school district.
21 In addition the Secretary of Education shall appoint three
1 members of the public who together with the ex officio members
2 shall constitute the school board for the school district. The
3 three public members shall be named for two, four and six year
4 terms and may be reappointed.
5 Section 2. Establishment, location, employees and regulations.
6 The school board shall establish and operate schools at all
7 correctional institutions and facilities under jurisdiction of
8 the Bureau of Correction. The educational personnel of the
9 district shall be employed by the independent school district.
10 The school district is authorized to promulgate such rules,
11 standards and regulations as found to be necessary for the
12 administration of this act. Each school district employee shall
13 be subject to all existing Bureau of Correction security
14 regulations. In addition, the school board shall be empowered to
15 hire a school superintendent who will be charged as the chief
16 administrative officer for the separate school district. The
17 superintendent shall be empowered to oversee the hiring and
18 firing of such staff as may be necessary for the operation of
19 the separate school district and all employees shall be civil
20 service employees of the school district. All new employees will
21 be hired with proper school certification. All existing
22 employees will be urged to complete the proper certification in
23 the minimum possible time.
24 Section 3. Eligibility of students.
25 (a) All persons sentenced to a State correctional
26 institution or facility are eligible to attend such schools.
27 (b) Additional programs of academic, vocational, special
28 education and postsecondary education and job placement shall be
29 made available by the school board to appropriate offenders
30 whether or not they have a high school diploma.
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1 Section 4. Validity of examinations and evaluation.
2 The Secretary of Education shall attest to the validity of
3 examinations successfully completed by offenders when such
4 examinations are nationally recognized for equivalency or credit
5 and shall, in the appropriate instances, issue Commonwealth
6 Secondary School Diplomas. In addition, the Secretary of
7 Education, acting in his ex officio capacity as a member of the
8 school board for the separate school district will cause to have
9 at least a yearly evaluation of the educational programs which
10 he will make available to the school board and the general
11 public.
12 Section 5. Powers of school district.
13 The school district will be considered a local education
14 authority and as such will be able to accept grants and have the
15 power to contract. The school district may accept grants,
16 donations, equipment, materials, bequests and personal property
17 from both public and private sources and expend funds for the
18 purposes of operating the schools, or providing educational
19 opportunities available beyond the confines of the particular
20 institution or facility and the district shall have power to
21 enter into contracts with public and private sources provided
22 that such contracts meet all requirements of existing provisions
23 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the
24 "Public School Code of 1949."
25 Section 6. Costs to be borne by the State.
26 (a) The cost of operating the school and programs authorized
27 by section 3(a) shall be borne by the Commonwealth and shall be
28 the same as the maximum payment for instructional costs per
29 pupil in average daily membership, which for the purpose of this
30 act shall be the same as the maximum payment for instructional
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1 costs per pupil in weighted average daily membership that is an
2 independent count of individual inmates participating in
3 educational programs based on the previous year's operation, as
4 provided for public school students in the "Public School Code
5 of 1949," regardless of the age of the offender and without
6 regard to the 180 day school year or the fiscal year set forth
7 in that act. Such payment shall not be in excess, in a 12-month
8 period, of the payment for instructional costs per pupil in
9 weighted average daily membership as set forth in that act.
10 (b) The cost of the program authorized by section 3(b) shall
11 be funded by appropriations to the Department of Education which
12 shall make these funds available to the school district as the
13 General Assembly shall determine.
14 Section 7. Appropriation.
15 The sum of $2,378,000, or as much thereof as may be
16 necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education
17 for the use of the school district in carrying out the
18 provisions of this act for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
19 1977. Appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1978
20 and thereafter for the operation of the schools and programs
21 authorized by section 3(a) shall be in accordance with the
22 formula set forth in section 6(a) and for the cost of programs
23 authorized by section 3(b) shall be in accordance with the
24 provisions of section 6(b).
25 Section 8. Effective date.
26 This act shall take effect July 1, 1977.
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