AN ACT

 

1Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An 
2act relating to the public school system, including certain 
3provisions applicable as well to private and parochial 
4schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the 
5laws relating thereto," providing for parent trigger, for 
6transformational model, for school transformation by parental 
7petition, for implementation of parental petition, for duties 
8of the Department of Education, for school district duties, 
9for School-to-school Partnership Program, for notification 
10and for guidelines.

11The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12hereby enacts as follows:

13Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
14as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
15article to read:

16ARTICLE XVII-C

17PARENT TRIGGER

18(a) Preliminary Provisions

19Section 1701-C. Scope of article.

20This article provides for parent trigger.

21Section 1702-C. Definitions.

22The following words and phrases when used in this article

1shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
2context clearly indicates otherwise:

3"Charter management organization." A nonprofit organization
4that operates or manages charter schools by centralizing or
5sharing certain functions and resources among schools.

6"Department." The Department of Education of the
7Commonwealth.

8"Education management organization." A for-profit
9organization or nonprofit organization that provides services
10for the operation of a school.

11"Eligible student." Either:

12(1) a student enrolled in a low-achieving school; or

13(2) according to the school district board's enrollment
14policies, a student scheduled for assignment to a low-
15achieving school in the following year.

16"Low-achieving school." A public school that ranked in the 
17lowest 15% of its designation as an elementary school or a 
18secondary school based on combined mathematics and reading 
19scores from the annual assessment administered in the previous 
20school year and for which the Department of Education has posted 
21results on its publicly accessible Internet website. The term 
22does not include a charter school, cyber charter school or area 
23vocational-technical school. If, on the date the petition is 
24submitted, a school is identified as a low-achieving school, it 
25remains so until final disposition of the petition by the school 
26district notwithstanding that the school may be removed from the 
27list of low-achieving schools.

28"Parent." A natural or adoptive parent, legal guardian or
29other person holding the right to make an educational decision
30for the eligible student on the date the petition is submitted.

1"Restart model." A school district model in which a school
2district converts a school or closes and reopens a school under
3any of the following that has been selected through a rigorous
4review process:

5(1) a charter school operator;

6(2) a charter management organization; or

7(3) an education management organization.

8"School." A public elementary or secondary school in this
9Commonwealth. The term does not include:

10(1) a charter school;

11(2) a cyber charter school;

12(3) an area vocational-technical school;

13(4) a school that does not draw its student body from a
14particular attendance boundary; or

15(5) a school with specialized academic programs with
16specific admissions criteria except where indicated.

17"School closure." A school district turnaround option in
18which the school district closes a school that results in
19students being removed and enrolled in a higher performing
20publicly funded school, including a charter school, cyber
21charter school and private school receiving public funds within 
22the school district.

23"Transformational model." A school district turnaround in
24which a school district implements the strategies specified in
25section 1711-C.

26"Turnaround model." As follows:

27(1) A school district turnaround option in which a
28school district implements the following strategies:

29(i) Replacing the principal who led the school prior
30to the commencement of the turnaround model and granting

1the new principal sufficient operational flexibility,
2including flexibility in staffing, scheduling and
3budgeting, to implement fully a comprehensive approach in
4order to substantially improve student achievement
5outcomes and increase high school graduation rates.

6(ii) Using locally adopted competencies to measure
7the effectiveness of staff who can work within the
8turnaround environment to meet the needs of the students
9by:

10(A) screening the staff and rehiring no more
11than 50% of the staff; and

12(B) selecting new staff.

13(iii) Implementing strategies such as providing:

14(A) financial incentives;

15(B) increased opportunities for promotion and
16career growth; and

17(C) more flexible work conditions that are
18designed to recruit and retain staff with the skills
19necessary to meet the needs of the students in the
20turnaround school.

21(iv) Providing staff with ongoing, high-quality,
22job-embedded professional development that is aligned
23with the comprehensive instructional program of the
24school and designed with school staff to ensure that
25staff are equipped to facilitate effective teaching and
26learning to successfully implement school reform
27strategies.

28(v) Adopting a new governance structure, which may
29include requiring the school to report to a new
30turnaround office in the school district, hiring a

1turnaround leader who reports directly to the
2superintendent or chief academic officer or entering into
3a multiyear contract with the school district to obtain
4added flexibility in exchange for greater accountability.

5(vi) Using data to identify and implement an
6instructional program that is research based and
7vertically aligned from one grade to the next as well as
8aligned with State academic standards.

9(vii) Promoting the continuous use of student data
10from assessments to inform and differentiate instruction
11in order to meet the academic needs of individual
12students.

13(viii) Establishing schedules and implementing
14strategies that provide increased learning time.

15(ix) Providing appropriate social, emotional and
16community-oriented services and supports for students.

17(2) A turnaround model may include the implementation of 
18other strategies, including any of the required and 
19permissible strategies under the transformational model, or a 
20new school model based on a single theme.

21(b) Transformational Model and

22School District Using a Restart Model

23Section 1711-C. Transformational model.

24A transformational model shall implement the following
25strategies:

26(1) Developing and increasing teacher and school leader
27effectiveness as follows:

28(i) A school district shall:

29(A) replace the principal who led the school
30prior to commencement of the transformational model;

1(B) use rigorous, transparent and equitable
2evaluation systems for teachers and principals as
3provided for under section 1123;

4(C) identify and reward school leaders, teachers
5and other staff who, in implementing the
6transformational model, have increased student
7achievement or high school graduation rates;

8(D) identify and remove school leaders, teachers
9and other staff who, in implementing the
10transformational model, have not significantly
11increased student achievement or high school
12graduation rates;

13(E) provide staff with ongoing, high-quality,
14job-embedded professional development that is aligned
15with the school's comprehensive instructional program
16and designed with school staff to ensure that the
17staff are equipped to facilitate effective teaching
18and learning and have the capacity to successfully
19implement school reform strategies; and

20(F) implement such strategies as financial
21incentives, increased opportunities for promotion and
22career growth and more flexible work conditions that
23are designed to recruit, place and retain staff with
24the skills necessary to meet the needs of the
25students in a transformational model school.

26(ii) In addition to the strategies contained under
27subparagraph (i), a school district may implement other
28strategies to develop the effectiveness of teachers and
29school leaders, including the following:

30(A) providing additional compensation to attract

1and retain staff with the skills necessary to meet
2the needs of the students in a transformational model
3school;

4(B) instituting a system for measuring changes
5in instructional practices resulting from
6professional development; and

7(C) ensuring the school is not required to
8accept a teacher without the mutual consent of the
9teacher and principal, regardless of the seniority of
10the teacher.

11(2) Comprehensive instructional reform strategies as
12follows:

13(i) A school district shall:

14(A) use data to identify and implement a
15research-based instructional program that is aligned
16with State academic standards and vertically aligned
17from one grade to the next; and

18(B) promote the continuous use of student data
19from assessments to inform and differentiate
20instruction to meet the academic needs of individual
21students.

22(ii) In addition to the strategies implemented under
23subparagraph (i), a school district may implement
24comprehensive instructional reform strategies, such as:

25(A) conducting periodic reviews to ensure that
26the curriculum is being implemented with fidelity and
27having the intended impact on student achievement;

28(B) modifying the curriculum if it is not having
29the intended impact on student achievement;

30(C) implementing a school-wide response to an

1intervention model;

2(D) providing additional supports and
3professional development to teachers and principals
4in order to implement effective strategies to support
5students with disabilities in the least restrictive
6environment and to ensure that limited English
7proficient students acquire language skills to master
8academic content;

9(E) using and integrating technology-based
10supports and interventions as part of the
11instructional program; and

12(F) in secondary schools:

13(I) increasing rigor by offering
14opportunities for students to enroll in advanced
15coursework, early-college high schools, dual
16enrollment programs or thematic learning
17academies that prepare students for college and
18careers, including providing appropriate supports
19designed to ensure that low-achieving students
20can take advantage of the programs and
21coursework;

22(II) improving student transition from
23middle school to high school through summer
24transition programs or freshman academies;

25(III) increasing graduation rates through
26strategies, such as credit-recovery programs, re-
27engagement strategies, smaller learning
28communities, competency-based instruction,
29performance-based assessments and acceleration of
30basic reading and mathematics skills; and

1(IV) establishing early-warning systems to
2identify students who may be at risk of failing
3to achieve at high standards or graduate.

4(3) Increasing learning time and creating community-
5oriented schools as follows:

6(i) A school district shall:

7(A) establish schedules and implement strategies
8that provide increased learning time; and

9(B) provide ongoing mechanisms for family and
10community engagement.

11(ii) In addition to the strategies implemented under
12subparagraph (i), a school district may implement
13strategies that extend learning time and create
14community-oriented schools, such as:

15(A) partnering with parents, parent
16organizations, faith-based organizations, community-
17based organizations, health clinics, other State or
18local agencies and others to create safe school
19environments that meet the social, emotional and
20health needs of the students;

21(B) extending or restructuring the school day to
22add time for advisory periods that build
23relationships between students, faculty and other
24school staff;

25(C) implementing approaches to improve school
26climate and discipline, such as implementing a system
27of positive behavioral supports or taking steps to
28eliminate bullying and student harassment; and

29(D) expanding the school program to offer full-
30day kindergarten or prekindergarten.

1(4) Providing operational flexibility and sustained
2support as follows:

3(i) A school district shall:

4(A) give the school sufficient operational
5flexibility, such as staffing, scheduling and
6budgeting, to fully implement a comprehensive
7approach to substantially improve student achievement
8outcomes and increase high school graduation rates;
9and

10(B) ensure that the school receives ongoing,
11intensive technical assistance and related support
12from the school district or a designated external
13lead partner organization, such as a school
14turnaround organization or an education management
15organization.

16(ii) In addition to the strategies implemented under
17subparagraph (i), a school district may implement other
18operational flexibility and intensive support strategies,
19such as:

20(A) allowing the school to be operated under a
21new governance arrangement; or

22(B) implementing a per-student, school-based
23budget formula that is weighted based on student
24needs.

25Section 1712-C. School districts implementing a restart model.

26A school district implementing a restart model shall:

27(1) enroll, within the grades it serves, any former
28student who wishes to attend the school; and

29(2) continue to serve the entire attendance boundary of
30the school.

1(c) School Transformation by Parental Petition

2Section 1721-C. School transformation by parental petition.

3(a) Restart or transformation.--For a low-achieving school
4on the list developed by the department under section 1709-G.1
5of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as the Tax
6Reform Code of 1971, parents may petition to restart the school
7or to transform it under one of the turnaround options.

8(b) Applicability.--This section does not apply to:

9(1) a public elementary or secondary school that the
10school district scheduled for closure; or

11(2) a school that implemented a school transformation by
12parental petition within the last three years.

13(c) Parents.--If parents representing over 50% of the
14students attending a low-achieving school sign a petition
15requesting to restart the school or to implement one of the
16turnaround options provided in subsection (a), the school
17district shall implement the option requested by the parents,
18except as provided in section 1722-C(e). A parent may sign the
19petition once for each eligible student they have in the low-
20achieving school. Only one parent per eligible student may sign
21a petition.

22(d) Duty of school district.--The school district shall
23provide in writing to any persons who make a request, enrollment
24data and the number of signatures required under subsection (c).

25(e) Submission.--The petition shall be submitted to the
26department and school district. Petitioning parents may not
27submit signatures for a low-achieving school until the petition
28contains the required amount of signatures.

29(f) Signatures.--Once the department receives the petition,
30the department has no more than 45 calendar days to review and

1verify the signatures as legitimate. The department shall
2initially attempt to verify the signatures by comparing the
3petitions to their existing files for parents and may only
4contact parents about their signatures in the case of a
5perceived discrepancy. The department may not invalidate the
6signature of a parent of an eligible student because of a
7technicality if it is clearly the intent of the parent to sign
8the petition and the parent is entitled to sign it. If enough
9discrepancies exist to put the total support level at or below
1050%, parents have an additional 60-day window to remedy the
11discrepancies or add the signatures of additional supportive
12parents.

13(g) Decision.--Once the signatures have been verified, the
14department shall have no more than 30 calendar days to reach a
15formal decision on the final disposition of the petition.

16(h) Right to expedited appeal.--A petitioner has the right
17to an expedited appeal to the appropriate court of common pleas.

18(i) Proposed school operator.--As follows:

19(1) If the parents petition for a restart model and
20include the proposed school operator, the parents need only
21to sign the petition to indicate their support for the
22restart school. If the proposed school operator is a charter
23school or charter school operator, a separate support
24petition does not need to be signed and submitted.

25(2) If the parents petition for a restart model and do
26not include the proposed school operator, then the school
27district shall promptly notify the petitioners that it has
28adopted the restart model and give the petitioners the option
29to solicit and select a school operator.

30(3) If the petitioners opt to solicit and select a

1specific school operator, they must submit the proposed
2school operator to the school district within 120 calendar
3days of final disposition.

4(4) If the petitioners decline the option to solicit
5proposals and select the school operator, the school district
6shall, within 20 calendar days, solicit proposals from
7charter school operators, charter management organizations
8and education management organizations. If the petitioners
9select an educational management organization, the school
10district shall work in good faith to implement a contract
11with a provider selected by the parents.

12Section 1722-C. Implementation of parental petition.

13(a) Duties of the school district.--Unless the parent
14petitioners request otherwise, the school district shall plan
15the restart or transformation and shall implement the plan no
16later than the subsequent school year after the petition is
17received. When a petition is received after March 1, the school
18district shall plan the restart or transformation no later than
19the first day of school of the school year beginning in the next
20calendar year, unless the petitioners and the school district
21agree to implement the plan in the subsequent school year.

22(b) Parents.--If the school district approves a parent
23petition to restart the school, a parent who does not want his
24or her child to attend the selected public charter school may
25enroll the child in a different publicly funded school within
26the jurisdiction.

27(c) Public charter schools.--A public charter school
28established under this act is subject to the same accountability
29and other standards in place for public charters in the
30jurisdiction. A public charter school that takes over the

1operation of a school under this article shall continue to serve
2the entire attendance boundary of the school. Parents
3petitioning to establish a public charter under this article do
4not need signatures from another party.

5(d) Prohibition.--If the school turnaround or restart option
6to be implemented is the conversion of the school to a public
7charter school, the public charter operator selected to operate
8the school may not have a school in its portfolio that has been
9under its control for at least five years and has performed

10in the bottom 50% of schools in this Commonwealth, as measured
11by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.

12(e) Specific school turnaround or restart option.--The
13school district shall adopt and implement the specific school
14turnaround option or restart option selected by parents in the
15petition unless the school district makes a finding, in writing
16and presented at a public meeting, that it is logistically
17impossible to implement the option. In this case, the school
18district shall state which of the other school turnaround
19options or restart options, which must include one of the
20turnaround options or the conversion of the school to a public
21charter school, it will implement within the time frame under
22this section. If the school district finds that the school
23turnaround option or restart option selected by parents is
24logistically impossible, it shall submit both the school
25turnaround option or restart option selected by parents and the
26turnaround option or restart option selected by the school
27district to the department. If, after review, the department
28determines that the school turnaround option or restart option
29selected by parents is logistically possible for the school
30district to implement, the department shall require the school

1district to implement that school turnaround option or restart
2option selected by parents. Alternatively, if the department
3determines that it is logistically impossible for the school
4district to implement the school turnaround option or restart
5option selected by parents, the department shall select a
6comparable turnaround or restart model and may consider, but is
7not limited to, the school district's selected model.

8(f) Requirements.--After the selection of the department,
9implementation of the selected school turnaround option or
10restart model must be accomplished in the next school year. If
11the department authorizes the school district to implement the
12school turnaround option selected by the school district under
13subsection (e), the school district shall plan and implement the
14selected plan for that school turnaround option or restart model
15no later than 180 days after the department authorizes the 
16school district to implement the selected school turnaround
17option or restart model.

18(g) Harassment, threats and intimidation.--Parents shall be
19free from harassment, threats and intimidation related to:

20(1) circulation or signature of a petition;

21(2) discouragement in regard to signing a petition; or

22(3) revocation of a signature from the petition.

23(h) School or school district resources.--School or school
24district resources may not be used to impede the petitioning
25process under this section and may not be used to support or
26oppose an effort by petitioning parents.

27Section 1723-C. Department duties.

28(a) Regulations.--Within 120 days from the enactment of this
29article, the Secretary of Education shall adopt regulations to
30implement the provisions of this article, including, but not

1limited to:

2(1) the petition format and submission process;

3(2) the appeals procedure and timeline if the school
4district chooses to implement a restart model or turnaround
5option other than that requested by the petitioning parents;

6(3) the selection and authorization of the public
7charter operator in circumstances where a public charter
8school is established under this article; and

9(4) the procedures for rescission of parent signatures,
10which must specifically provide that signatures may not be
11invalidated after the date the petition is submitted on the
12grounds that the person who signed the petition has
13subsequently revoked the signature.

14(b) Records and concerns.--The department shall maintain
15records regarding the contents of and outcomes from parental
16petitions in order to ensure appropriate implementation of this
17section and address concerns identified through regulatory
18action.

19(c) Partnership program and technical assistance.--The
20department shall establish the School-to-school Partnership
21Program and provide technical assistance under section 1731-C.

22(d) Financial assistance.--The department shall establish
23and implement a program to provide financial assistance to a
24mentor school in accordance with section 1731-C(c).

25(e) Signatures and disposition of petition.--The department
26is responsible for verifying petitioners' signatures and making
27a decision as to the final disposition of the petition under
28section 1721-C(f).

29(f) Notification.--The department shall notify the school
30district upon receipt of the parental petition and upon its

1final disposition of the petition.

2Section 1724-C. School district duties.

3A school district shall implement the intervention requested
4by petition under section 1721-C(a) and in accordance with
5section 1722-C.

6(d) Miscellaneous Provisions

7Section 1731-C. School-to-school Partnership Program.

8(a) Establishment.--

9(1) The department shall establish a School-to-school
10Partnership Program and shall provide technical assistance to
11the participating low-achieving schools and mentor schools.
12The department shall:

13(i) identify and notify schools that qualify as
14mentor schools;

15(ii) create and maintain a Statewide list of schools
16that elected to be in the program as mentor schools; and

17(iii) place the Statewide list established under
18subparagraph (i) on the department's publicly accessible
19Internet website.

20(2) For purposes of this subsection, a mentor school is
21a school that:

22(i) has been removed from the list of low-achieving
23schools developed by the department under section 1709-
24G.1 of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as
25the Tax Reform Code of 1971; or

26(ii) using the most recent data available, has
27increased, in the Statewide rankings based on the
28Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores, by two
29or more deciles over the last five years.

30(b) Participation.--A school implementing the turnaround

1model or transformational model may participate in the School-
2to-school Partnership Program by working with a mentor school
3that has successfully transitioned from the list of low-
4achieving schools. In doing so, the principal and, at the
5discretion of the principal, the staff of a mentor school shall
6provide:

7(1) guidance to a low-achieving school to develop a
8reform plan for the school using the required elements of the
9turnaround or transformation model; and

10(2) guidance and advice on how the mentor school was
11able to transform the culture of the low-achieving school and
12how that transformation could be replicated at the school
13implementing a turnaround or transformation model.

14(c) Funding.--

15(1) To the extent that funds are made available for this
16purpose, the department shall provide funding to a school
17district for each public school located in the school
18district that serves as a mentor school that is proportionate
19to the degree of school staff participation in the School-to-
20school Partnership Program. A school district that receives
21funding under this paragraph shall expend the funding for the
22support of each mentor school.

23(2) As a condition for receipt of funds, the principal
24and, at the principal's discretion, the staff of a mentor
25school shall meet regularly with the assigned low-achieving
26school for a period of up to at least three years depending
27upon the availability of Federal funds.

28Section 1732-C. Notification.

29The department shall notify the board of school directors
30that one or more of the schools in its jurisdiction have been

1identified as low-achieving schools as defined under section
21702-G.1 of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as the
3Tax Reform Code of 1971.

4Section 1733-C. Guidelines.

5The department may establish guidelines as necessary for the
6administration of this article. The guidelines must be published
7in the Pennsylvania Bulletin as statements of policy.

8Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.