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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY WASHINGTON, GREENLEAF, TARTAGLIONE AND WOZNIAK, FEBRUARY 10, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO EDUCATION, FEBRUARY 10, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Establishing the Schools of Excellence Program. |
2 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
3 | hereby enacts as follows: |
4 | Section 1. Short title. |
5 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Schools of |
6 | Excellence Act. |
7 | Section 2. Legislative intent. |
8 | It is the intent of the General Assembly to establish the |
9 | permanent operation of the Schools of Excellence that will do |
10 | all of the following: |
11 | (1) Foster leadership skills through intensive and |
12 | acutely relevant curricula, and by tackling current, pressing |
13 | issues within students' respective fields, further enabling |
14 | them to deal with current problems in their field and |
15 | determine how to solve future problems as they arise. |
16 | (2) Enable students to live together, learn together and |
17 | work toward a common goal. Committed youth will be able to |
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1 | share their talents and knowledge for the betterment of |
2 | others. |
3 | (3) Give students the freedom to take creative and |
4 | intellectual risks that advance their skills and vision |
5 | without the inhibitions found in a normal classroom. |
6 | (4) Educate students about the positive impact of |
7 | community service and encourage their participation. |
8 | (5) Encourage students and alumni to remain in |
9 | Pennsylvania. |
10 | (6) Provide encouragement to students from every race, |
11 | ethnicity, socioeconomic status, ideology and geographic |
12 | location in Pennsylvania, providing opportunity for all |
13 | students. |
14 | Section 3. Definitions. |
15 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
16 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
17 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
18 | "Department." The Department of Education of the |
19 | Commonwealth. |
20 | "Host site." The college or university where a School of |
21 | Excellence is located. |
22 | "Program." The Schools of Excellence Program. |
23 | "Schools of Excellence." The following: |
24 | (1) School for the Agriculture Sciences at The |
25 | Pennsylvania State University. |
26 | (2) School for the Arts at Mercyhurst College. |
27 | (3) School for Global Entrepreneurship at Lehigh |
28 | University. |
29 | (4) School for Information, Society and Technology at |
30 | Drexel University. |
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1 | (5) School for International Studies at University of |
2 | Pittsburgh. |
3 | (6) School for Health Care at University of Pittsburgh. |
4 | (7) School for Science at Carnegie Mellon University. |
5 | (8) School for Teaching at Millersville University. |
6 | "Tuition free." No charge for tuition is assessed to a |
7 | student enrolled in a program at a participating institution of |
8 | higher education. For purposes of this definition, tuition does |
9 | not include any additional fees or surcharges that are required |
10 | for enrollment in a particular program. |
11 | Section 4. Schools of Excellence Program. |
12 | The Schools of Excellence Program is hereby established |
13 | within the department. |
14 | Section 5. Duties of department. |
15 | (a) Disciplines.--The department shall establish Schools of |
16 | Excellence in the following disciplines at host sites throughout |
17 | this Commonwealth. The disciplines shall include all of the |
18 | following: |
19 | (1) Arts. |
20 | (2) Agricultural sciences. |
21 | (3) Information, society and technology. |
22 | (4) International studies. |
23 | (5) Sciences. |
24 | (6) Teaching, which shall include a course of study in |
25 | urban teaching. |
26 | (7) Global entrepreneurship. |
27 | (8) Health care. |
28 | (b) Locations.--Schools of Excellence may be sponsored by |
29 | and located at Pennsylvania institutions of higher education |
30 | that previously sponsored Governor's Schools. The department |
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1 | shall work with the Pennsylvania institutions of higher |
2 | education to ensure that Schools of Excellence are |
3 | geographically dispersed throughout this Commonwealth and cover |
4 | the disciplines referenced in subsection (a). Where an |
5 | institution that previously sponsored a Governor's School is no |
6 | longer willing or able to sponsor a School of Excellence, the |
7 | department shall work with other institutions of higher |
8 | education or nonprofit organizations to find a sponsor for this |
9 | program. |
10 | (c) Administration.--In administering the program, the |
11 | department shall do all of the following: |
12 | (1) Make applications available to every public and |
13 | nonpublic school in this Commonwealth and include the |
14 | application on the department's Internet website. |
15 | (2) Ensure that each School of Excellence is utilizing a |
16 | process whereby students are selected on the basis of their |
17 | performance and achievement through a competitive selection |
18 | process and seek to ensure an economically, socially and |
19 | geographically diverse student population. |
20 | (3) Ensure the program is tuition free enabling all |
21 | qualified students the opportunity to enroll in the program |
22 | regardless of their economic circumstances. |
23 | (d) Scheduling.--Schools of Excellence shall be held, to the |
24 | extent possible, during the summer months between the end and |
25 | beginning of the school year. The department may grant |
26 | permission for a school to be held at other times during the |
27 | school year when circumstances and programming options warrant |
28 | such a change. |
29 | (e) Costs.--Students attending a School of Excellence shall |
30 | not be required to pay any tuition or fees to attend and |
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1 | participate in a School of Excellence. Students are responsible |
2 | for their own costs relating to transportation to and from the |
3 | program. |
4 | Section 6. Reports. |
5 | (a) Requirement.--The department, on the first of October of |
6 | each year, shall file a report with the Governor, the chairman |
7 | and minority chairman of the Education Committee of the Senate |
8 | and the chairman and minority chairman of the Education |
9 | Committee of the House of Representatives. |
10 | (b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) |
11 | shall include the following information: |
12 | (1) The number of host sites participating in the |
13 | program. |
14 | (2) The number of students participating at each School |
15 | of Excellence. |
16 | (3) The number of faculty at each host site. |
17 | (4) The subject, focus and activities of each class. |
18 | Section 7. Funding. |
19 | The department shall provide funding for the Schools of |
20 | Excellence out of its general appropriation. Funding to |
21 | institutions sponsoring a School of Excellence shall not be a |
22 | reimbursement for prior year's costs. Institutions shall receive |
23 | funding from the department to assist with costs relating to |
24 | implementing a program. An institution shall not receive funding |
25 | in any given year for sponsoring a School of Excellence in an |
26 | amount that exceeds the amount expended by the Commonwealth for |
27 | a previous Governor's School program; provided, however, that |
28 | this amount may be adjusted every five years based on the |
29 | increase to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers |
30 | (CPI-U) for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland |
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1 | area for the preceding 12 months in the year in which the |
2 | increase in funding is to occur. |
3 | Section 20. Effective date. |
4 | This act shall take effect immediately. |
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