PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1464, 1833 PRINTER'S NO. 1962
No. 1204 Session of 1977
Report of the Committee of Conference
To the Members of the Senate and House of Representatives:
We, the undersigned, Committee of Conference on the part of
the Senate and House of Representatives for the purpose of
considering Senate Bill No. 1204, entitled:
"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,' providing for diagnostic and evaluative
psychological services for the benefit of children attending
nonpublic schools in the Commonwealth."
respectfully submit the following bill as our report:
JEANETTE F. REIBMAN
JOSEPH F. SMITH
CHARLES F. DOUGHERTY
(Committee on the part of the Senate.)
JAMES J.A. GALLAGHER
J. WILLIAM LINCOLN
EDWARD F. BURNS, JR.
(Committee on the part of the House of Representatives.)
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2 act relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," providing for diagnostic and
6 evaluative psychological services for the benefit of children
7 attending nonpublic schools in the Commonwealth.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
11 as the "Public School Code of 1949," is amended by adding a
12 section to read:
13 Section 923.1-A. Psychological Services.--(a) Legislative
14 Finding; Declaration of Policy. It is today recognized that
15 diagnostic and evaluative psychological services to children are
16 closely related to their physical, mental and emotional health.
17 Such services can best be rendered upon the premises of the
18 school which the child regularly attends, and forcing children
19 to go to other premises in order to have such needed services is
20 found by the General Assembly to be both inadequate and harmful.
21 The General Assembly expressly finds and declares diagnostic and
22 evaluative psychological services for children to be health
23 services, and it is the intention of the General Assembly now to
24 make these available, on a general and even handed basis, to all
25 school children in the Commonwealth.
26 (b) Definitions.--The following terms, whenever used or
27 referred to in this section, shall have the following meanings,
28 except in those circumstances where the context clearly
29 indicates otherwise:
30 "Nonpublic school" means any nonprofit school, other than a
1 public school within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, wherein a
2 resident of the Commonwealth may legally fulfill the compulsory
3 school attendance requirements and which meets the requirements
4 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352).
5 "Psychological services" means diagnostic and evaluative
6 psychological services for children.
7 (c) Provision of Services.--The Secretary of Education
8 directly, or through the intermediate units out of their
9 allocation under section 922.1-A of this act shall have the
10 power and duty to furnish free to nonpublic school students,
11 upon the premises of the nonpublic schools which they regularly
12 attend, psychological services provided that such services are
13 also afforded to public school students by the public school
14 district in which such nonpublic school is located.
15 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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