1Establishing the Governor's Schools of Excellence; and making an
2appropriation.

3The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4hereby enacts as follows:

5Section 1. Short title.

6This act shall be known and may be cited as the Governor's
7Schools of Excellence Act.

8Section 2. Legislative intent.

9It is the intent of the General Assembly to establish the
10permanent operation of the Governor's Schools of Excellence in
11order to afford students of all socioeconomic backgrounds the
12opportunity to pursue in-depth and advanced studies in the
13fields of agricultural sciences, engineering and technology or
14sciences.

15Section 3. Definitions.

16The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
17have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

1context clearly indicates otherwise:

2"Department." The Department of Education of the
3Commonwealth.

4"Governor's Schools of Excellence." Schools established by
5the department under section 5.

6"Host site." The college or university where a Governor's
7School of Excellence is located.

8"Program." The Governor's Schools of Excellence Program.

9Section 4. Governor's Schools of Excellence Program.

10The Governor's Schools of Excellence Program is hereby
11established within the department.

12Section 5. Duties of department.

13(a) Disciplines.--The department shall establish a minimum
14of three Governor's Schools of Excellence in the following
15disciplines at host sites throughout this Commonwealth. The
16disciplines shall include all of the following:

17(1) Agricultural sciences.

18(2) Engineering and technology.

19(3) Sciences.

20(b) Locations.--Governor's Schools of Excellence may be
21sponsored by and located at Pennsylvania institutions of higher
22education designated by the department.

23(c) Administration.--In administering the program, the
24department shall do all of the following:

25(1) Make applications available to every public and
26nonpublic school in this Commonwealth and include the
27application on the department's publicly accessible Internet
28website.

29(2) Ensure that each Governor's School of Excellence is
30utilizing a process whereby students are selected on the

1basis of their performance and achievement through a
2competitive selection process and seek to ensure an
3economically, socially and geographically diverse student
4population.

5(3) Ensure the program complies with subsection (e),
6enabling all qualified students the opportunity to enroll in
7the program regardless of their economic circumstances.

8(d) Scheduling.--Governor's Schools of Excellence shall be
9held, to the extent possible, during the summer months between
10the end and the beginning of the school year. The department may
11grant permission for a school to be held at other times during
12the school year when circumstances and programming options
13warrant such a change.

14(e) Costs.--Students attending a Governor's School of
15Excellence shall not be required to pay any tuition or fees to
16attend and participate in a Governor's School of Excellence.
17Students are responsible for their own costs relating to
18transportation to and from the program.

19Section 6. Appropriation.

20For the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the General Assembly shall
21appropriate funding in the amount of $350,000 to the department
22for the purpose of the Governor's Schools of Excellence Program.

23Section 7. Effective date.

24This act shall take effect immediately.