PRINTER'S NO. 2741
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1795
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY TOOHIL, YOUNGBLOOD, BRADFORD, R. BROWN, BULLOCK,
CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, D. COSTA, DiGIROLAMO, GROVE, KINSEY,
MARSICO, McNEILL, MURT, NEILSON, PASHINSKI, PETRI, PICKETT,
ROEBUCK, ROZZI, SCHLOSSBERG, SCHREIBER, SCHWEYER, THOMAS,
VEREB, WARD AND WATSON, JANUARY 21, 2016
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JANUARY 21, 2016
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," in terms and courses of study,
providing for instruction in observance of the birthday of
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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 1555. Instruction in Observance of the Birthday of
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--(a) Beginning with the
2016-2017 school year, each school entity shall provide
instruction on the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., to students during the week of the third Monday in
January in observance of the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. This instruction shall be designed to
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communicate to students the profound legacy of the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., his commitment to social justice and
his contributions to racial equality.
(b) The instruction required under subsection (a) may be
offered as a separate instructional activity or may be
integrated into an appropriate course of study.
(c) School entities may utilize any appropriate public or
private materials, personnel or other resources in developing
and implementing the instruction required under subsection (a).
(d) The Department of Education shall:
(1) Make available to school entities teacher curriculum
materials and other available resources related to the life and
work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the history of the
American Civil Rights Movement and the movement's impact in the
United States.
(2) Post the materials made available to school entities
under paragraph (1) on its publicly accessible Internet website
within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this section.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the term "school
entity" shall mean a school district, charter school, regional
charter school, cyber charter school, intermediate unit or area
vocational-technical school.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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