THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY SCHWANK, COSTA, HUGHES, FERLO, FONTANA, STACK, KASUNIC, LEACH, SOLOBAY AND BROWNE, MARCH 16, 2012

REFERRED TO EDUCATION, MARCH 16, 2012  

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 Priority Assistance

Grant for Education Program.

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 2599.4.  Priority Assistance Grant for Education

Program.--(a)  Beginning with the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the

Department of Education shall establish the Priority Assistance

Grant for Education Program to support students enrolled in

qualifying school districts. The purpose of the program is to

ensure that students in qualifying school districts have access

to proven, research-based academic programs that will improve

student learning and academic achievement.

(b)  To qualify for the program under this section, a school

district shall:

(1)  (i)  Be classified as a school district of the second,

third or fourth class.

(ii)  Be certified as a Corrective Action 2 school district

pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law

107-110, 115 Stat. 1425) as of the effective date of this

section; or

(2)  meet all of the following:

(i)  Have a 2009 personal income divided by the adjusted

average daily membership for the 2009-2010 school year of less

than or equal to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).

(ii)  Have a market value/personal income aid ratio for the

2011-2012 school year greater than or equal to 0.7000.

(iii)  Have the percentage of students eligible for free or

reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program

during the 2009-2010 school year greater than or equal to sixty-

five percent (65%), calculated by dividing the number of

students eligible for free and reduced-price meals during the

2009-2010 school year by the adjusted average daily membership

of the school district for the 2009-2010 school year.

(iv)  Have a percentage of students scoring below proficient

on the 2009-2010 PSSA test in reading of greater than or equal

to thirty percent (30%), calculated by dividing the number of

PSSA tests administered in the school district on which students

scored below proficient in reading during the 2009-2010 school

year by the total number of PSSA tests scored in reading in the

school district during the 2009-2010 school year.

(v)  Have a percentage of students scoring below proficient

on the 2009-2010 PSSA test in mathematics of greater than or

equal to thirty percent (30%), calculated by dividing the number

of PSSA tests administered in the school district on which

students scored below proficient in mathematics during the

2009-2010 school year by the total number of PSSA tests scored

in mathematics in the school district during the 2009-2010

school year.

(c)  A school district that qualifies for the program under

subsection (b) shall establish a school leadership team in order

to develop the priority assistance plan required under

subsection (f)(2) and monitor the academic achievement of

students impacted by the program. The school leadership team

shall meet at least quarterly and shall continue for as long as

the school district receives a priority assistance grant for

education under subsection (e). The school leadership team shall

include:

(1)  The school district superintendent or a designee.

(2)  Two (2) building principals.

(3) Five (5) professional employes, selected by the exclusive

representative of professional employes in the school district.

(4)  Two (2) parents, selected by the members enumerated in

paragraphs (1), (2) and (3).

(5)  If practicable, one (1) faculty member of a certified

education program at a Pennsylvania accredited college or

university selected by the members enumerated in paragraphs (1),

(2) and (3).

(d)  A school district that qualifies for the program under

subsection (b) shall use the priority assistance grant for

education funds provided under subsection (e) to support proven,

research-based academic programs. Specifically, priority

assistance grant for education funds may be used only for any of

the following:

(1)  Establishing or expanding prekindergarten programs.

(2)  Establishing or expanding full-day kindergarten

programs.

(3)  Reducing class sizes such that one teacher in any

elementary-level class for which funds under this section are

used is responsible for no more than twenty (20) students per

class period and that one teacher in any secondary-level class

for which funds under this section are used is responsible for

no more than twenty-five (25) students per class period:

Provided, That a school district that has increased class sizes

in the school year prior to the first year in which priority

assistance grant for education funds under subsection (e) are

allocated shall use funds provided under subsection (e) such

that one teacher is responsible for no more than twenty (20)

elementary-level students or twenty-five (25) secondary-level

students per class period.

(4)  Establishing or expanding programs to provide additional

student learning time. Programs offered under this paragraph

shall first focus on school buildings with the highest

proportion of students who scored "basic" or "below basic" on

the PSSA tests in reading or mathematics administered in the

school year prior to the school year in which priority

assistance grant for education funds are allocated under

subsection (e). Programs offered under this paragraph may

include before-school and after-school tutoring opportunities,

tutoring programs offered during the regular school day or

behavior support programs.

(5)  Establishing or expanding programs to provide

vocational-education opportunities to students. Programs

eligible under this paragraph may include initiatives to

identify students for vocational-education opportunities, create

partnerships with existing vocational-education providers and

create partnerships for internships and externships with

employers.

(6)  Establishing or expanding parent involvement programs.

Initiatives eligible under this paragraph include expanded use

of parent-teacher conferences, establishment of online student

grading report systems and establishment of school-wide or

school district-wide activities aimed at fostering greater

involvement by parents and others in school or school district

activities.

(7)  Establishing or expanding programs that promote

connections with local law enforcement, that expand the

availability, coordination, integration and utilization of

social and health services and that promote connections with

other State and local organizations and agencies that exist to

meet the needs of children and families in addressing issues

that may serve to limit student academic achievement.

(8)  Establishing or expanding programs to place eligible

students in alternative education programs. Initiatives under

this paragraph may include the use of priority assistance grant

for education funds to finance the placement of eligible

students in existing alternative education programs.

(9)  Establishing or expanding programs to educate students

about and to train school employes to prevent bullying, threats

and other abusive behaviors.

(10)  Establishing or expanding programs to provide mentoring

opportunities to school employes who have been employed by a

qualifying school district for less than five (5) years or who

are newly assigned to a school building impacted by a program

under this subsection. Initiatives under this paragraph shall

provide opportunities for such school employes to learn from

colleagues and receive targeted professional development.

(11)  Making expenditures essential to the continued

operation of the school district or reinstating any initiative,

course offering or other academic program not otherwise

enumerated in this subsection that was eliminated or curtailed

during the school year in which priority assistance grant for

education funds under subsection (e) are allocated or during the

school year immediately preceding the school year in which

priority assistance grant for education funds are allocated:

Provided, That a qualifying school district that elects to use

grant funds under this paragraph shall be subject to the

provisions of subsection (g).

(12)  In years subsequent to the first year in which priority

assistance grant for education funds under subsection (e) are

allocated, a qualifying school district may use such funds to

maintain any program or expenditure authorized in this

subsection.

(e)  During the 2012-2013 school year and each school year

thereafter, a school district that qualifies for the program

under subsection (b) shall receive a priority assistance grant

for education, calculated as follows:

(1)  Determine the percentage of students who scored below

proficient on the 2009-2010 PSSA tests in reading by dividing

the number of PSSA tests administered in the school district on

which students scored below proficient in reading during the

2009-2010 school year by the total number of PSSA tests scored

in reading in the school district during the 2009-2010 school

year.

(2)  Determine the percentage of students who scored below

proficient on the 2009-2010 PSSA tests in mathematics by

dividing the number of PSSA tests administered in the school

district on which students scored below proficient in

mathematics during the 2009-2010 school year by the total number

of PSSA tests scored in mathematics in the school district

during the 2009-2010 school year.

(3)  Divide the sum of paragraphs (1) and (2) by 2.0.

(4)  Multiply the quotient from paragraph (3) by the adjusted

average daily membership of the school district for the

2009-2010 school year.

(5)  Multiply the product from paragraph (4) by the sum of

1.0 and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-

price meals under the National School Lunch Program during the

2009-2010 school year. The percentage of students under this

paragraph shall be calculated by dividing the number of students

eligible for free and reduced-price meals during the 2009-2010

school year by the adjusted average daily membership of the

school district for the 2009-2010 school year.

(6)  Multiply the product from paragraph (5) by the quotient

of one hundred thousand (100,000) and the 2009 personal income

per adjusted average daily membership of the school district.

(7)  Multiply the product from paragraph (6) by the market

value/personal income aid ratio of the school district for the

2011-2012 school year.

(8)  Divide the product from paragraph (7) by the sum of the

products of paragraph (6) for all qualifying school districts.

(9)  Multiply the quotient from paragraph (8) by thirty

million dollars ($30,000,000).

(f)  (1)  Within fifteen (15) days of the effective date of

this section and no later than June 1 of each year thereafter,

the Department of Education shall notify a school district that

qualifies for the program under subsection (b) of the amount of

priority assistance grant for education funds it will receive

under subsection (e) and of the programs authorized under

subsection (d).

(2)  No later than forty-five (45) days after a qualifying

school district receives the notice under paragraph (1), the

board of school directors shall submit a priority assistance

plan to the Department of Education. The priority assistance

plan shall be developed and submitted to the board of school

directors by the school leadership team established under

subsection (c). A qualifying school district that fails to

establish a school leadership team under subsection (c) and

submit a priority assistance plan under this paragraph shall

forfeit its priority assistance grant for education funds under

subsection (e). The priority assistance plan shall include:

(i)  The program or programs under subsection (d) that

priority assistance grant for education funds will be used to

support.

(ii)  The amount of priority assistance grant for education

funds used for each program identified under subparagraph (i).

(iii)  A detailed description of each program for which

priority assistance grant for education funds will be used.

(iv)  A description of the academic accountability measures

the school district will use to measure the impact the program

or programs identified under subparagraph (i) have on students.

(v)  An indication of whether the program or programs

identified under subparagraph (i) are new, an expansion of

existing programs or a reinstatement of programs that were

previously eliminated or curtailed.

(3)  Where a qualifying school district's priority assistance

plan under paragraph (2) indicates that it intends to use

twenty-five percent (25%) or more of its priority assistance

grant for education funds pursuant to subsection (d)(11), such

qualifying school district shall be subject to the provisions of

subsection (g).

(4)  No later than October 1, 2012, and September 1 of each

year thereafter, the Department of Education shall pay priority

assistance grant for education funds pursuant to subsection (e)

to a qualifying school district that complies with paragraphs

(2) and (3).

(5)  No later than March 1, 2013, and March 1 of each year

thereafter, the Department of Education shall, in consultation

with the academic excellence advisory commission established

under subsection (h), submit a report to the Chairman and

Minority Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate,

the Chairman and Minority Chairman of the Education Committee of

the Senate, the Chairman and Minority Chairman of the

Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives and the

Chairman and Minority Chairman of the Education Committee of the

House of Representatives summarizing the operation of the

program for the fiscal year in which the report is submitted.

The report shall include:

(i)  A description of the operation of the program.

(ii)  A summary of the total amount of priority assistance

grant for education funds paid to qualifying school districts.

(iii)  A summary of the uses of priority assistance grant for

education funds in qualifying school districts.

(iv)  An identification of the number of qualifying school

districts that used priority assistance grant for education

funds for each of the programs under subsection (d).

(v)  A listing of each qualifying school district and the

program or programs under subsection (d) for which priority

assistance grant for education funds were used.

(g)  (1)  Where a qualifying school district's priority

assistance plan includes expenditures within subsection (f)(3),

the Secretary of Education shall appoint a State monitor to

oversee the expenditure of only that portion of the qualifying

school district's priority assistance grant for education funds

used for the purpose enumerated under subsection (d)(11). The

State monitor shall be appointed no later than thirty (30) days

subsequent to the allocation of priority assistance grant for

education funds under subsection (e).

(2)  The State monitor shall not be employed by or at any

time act in any official capacity connected with the qualifying

school district and shall remain in place for as long as the

qualifying school district receives priority assistance grant

for education funds under subsection (e), unless removed by the

Secretary of Education.

(3)  The State monitor shall have the following powers and

duties:

(i)  To review the school district's revenues and

expenditures in order to determine whether any other school

district resources, other than priority assistance grant for

education funds, are available for the purposes authorized under

subsection (d)(11).

(ii)  To oversee the expenditure of priority assistance grant

for education funds for the purposes authorized under subsection

(d)(11).

(iii)  To have access to all records of expenditures made by

the school district for the purposes authorized under subsection

(d)(11).

(h)  (1)  The Secretary of Education shall appoint members of

an academic excellence advisory commission, which shall meet at

least quarterly, at the call of the commission's chairperson.

(2)  The commission shall:

(i)  Review priority assistance plans submitted by qualifying

school districts under subsection (f)(2).

(ii)  Identify successful, research-based initiatives

qualifying school districts may use to implement the programs

identified under subsection (d).

(iii)  Assist the Secretary of Education in the creation and

maintenance of the clearinghouse established under subsection

(i).

(iv)  Advise the Secretary of Education in the selection of

any State monitor appointed under subsection (g).

(v)  Advise the Secretary of Education in the development of

the report required under subsection (f)(5).

(3)  Commission members shall include:

(i)  The Department of Education's deputy secretary for basic

education, who shall serve as chairperson.

(ii)  Two (2) members of the State Board of Education.

(iii)  Three (3) teachers who are actively employed by

Pennsylvania school districts, as recommended by the

Pennsylvania State Education Association.

(iv)  Three (3) members of Pennsylvania boards of school

directors, as recommended by the Pennsylvania School Boards

Association.

(v)  Three (3) school superintendents who are actively

employed by Pennsylvania school districts, as recommended by the

Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

(vi)  Three (3) principals who are actively employed by

Pennsylvania school districts, including an elementary school

principal, a middle school principal and a secondary school

principal, as recommended by the Pennsylvania Association of

Elementary and Secondary School Principals.

(vii)  Three (3) parents of students enrolled in school

districts that qualify for the program under subsection (b), as

recommended by the Pennsylvania Parent Teacher Association.

(viii)  Three (3) faculty members of certified education

programs at a Pennsylvania-accredited college or university.

(i)  The Secretary of Education shall, in consultation with

the academic excellence advisory commission, establish a

clearinghouse of information, initiatives and research that

school districts that qualify for the program under subsection

(b) may use to implement the programs identified under

subsection (d). The contents of the clearinghouse shall be

updated quarterly with the most current information, initiatives

and research and made available to qualifying school districts

through the Department of Education's publicly accessible

Internet website.

(j)  (1)  The Department of Education shall establish

reporting procedures and auditing guidelines to ensure that

priority assistance grant for education funds are utilized in

accordance with subsection (d).

(2)  A school district shall maintain separate accounts in

its budget to facilitate monitoring the use of the priority

assistance grant for education funds.

(3)  The Department of Education shall reduce the amount of a

State subsidy payment to a school district that qualifies for

the program under subsection (b) by an amount equal to the

amount of any priority assistance grant for education funds

under subsection (e) that are not used in accordance with

subsection (d).

(4)  No later than September 1, 2013, and September 1 of each

year thereafter, the Auditor General shall issue a report on the

program under this section.

(5)  No school district may place priority assistance grant

for education funds under this section in a reserve account.

(k)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or

otherwise affect the rights, remedies and procedures afforded

school or school district employes under Federal, State or local

laws, including applicable regulations or court orders, or under

the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of

understanding or other agreements between such employes and

their employers.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.