PRINTER'S NO. 1089
No. 923 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY ROEBUCK, D. EVANS, FREEMAN, GALLOWAY, GRUCELA, JOSEPHS, W. KELLER, KORTZ, LEACH, McILHATTAN, MELIO, MURT, MYERS, M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, PARKER, PAYTON, PRESTON, READSHAW, SOLOBAY, STURLA, TANGRETTI, THOMAS, WALKO AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 29, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 29, 2007
AN ACT 1 Establishing and providing for the implementation and 2 administration of the Beginning Educator Support and Training 3 (BEST) Program; and providing for powers and duties of the 4 Department of Education. 5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 6 hereby enacts as follows: 7 Section 1. Short title. 8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Beginning 9 Educator Support and Training (BEST) Program. 10 Section 2. Declaration of policy. 11 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: 12 (1) The beginning years of a teacher's career are a 13 critical time in which intensive professional development and 14 training must occur. 15 (2) The public invests heavily in the preparation of 16 prospective teachers and more than half of all new teachers 17 leave some Pennsylvania school districts after one or two
1 years in the classroom. 2 (3) Intensive professional development and training are 3 necessary to build on the preparation that precedes initial 4 certification, to transform academic preparation into 5 practical success in the classroom, to retain greater numbers 6 of capable beginning educators and to remove novices who show 7 little promise as teachers. 8 Section 3. Definitions. 9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 11 context clearly indicates otherwise: 12 "Beginning educator." A first-year teacher with a valid 13 Pennsylvania Instructional I certificate or Educational 14 Specialist I certificate or who is a long-term substitute, 45 15 days or more, employed in an eligible school district. 16 "Department." The Department of Education of the 17 Commonwealth. 18 "Eligible school district." A school district with a high 19 turnover rate for beginning educators in a two-year period and 20 that is economically disadvantaged as determined by the 21 Secretary of Education. 22 Performance-based assessment." An assessment that evaluates 23 beginning educators in relation to student learning and teaching 24 behaviors that is content-specific and reveals information about 25 the logic and coherence of the teachers' curriculum, the 26 appropriateness of their instructional decisions for students, 27 the range of pedagogical strategies they use effectively, the 28 quality of their assignments, their skill in assessing student 29 learning and their ability to reflect on their own teaching and 30 make changes based on evidence of student learning. 20070H0923B1089 - 2 -
1 "Program." The Beginning Educator Support and Training 2 (BEST) Program established by this act. 3 "Program quality." Excellence with respect to program 4 factors, including, but not limited to, all of the following: 5 (1) Program goals. 6 (2) Design resources. 7 (3) Management, evaluation and improvement of the 8 program. 9 (4) Working conditions. 10 (5) Support, training and assessment services to each 11 beginning educator. 12 "Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth. 13 Section 3. Establishment. 14 (a) Program established.--There is hereby established the 15 Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) Program, to be 16 administered by the department. The department shall provide the 17 program to school districts with high teacher turnover rates for 18 first-year and second-year teachers and that are economically 19 disadvantaged as determined by the secretary. Participation in 20 the program shall be mandatory for beginning educators employed 21 in eligible school districts. The department shall adopt and 22 implement criteria and standards for participation in the 23 program, including criteria regarding the eligibility of 24 educators and standards of local program quality and intensity 25 for schools, school districts, colleges, universities and other 26 educational and professional organizations involved in the 27 program. The criteria and standards shall be consistent with the 28 purposes of the program. 29 (b) Program description.--The program shall support locally 30 designed, high-quality induction programs that provide 20070H0923B1089 - 3 -
1 individualized support and performance-based assessment for all 2 participating beginning educators. The department shall develop 3 and implement policies to govern the support, training and 4 assessment of beginning educators, as a condition for the 5 professional certification of those educators in the future. 6 (c) Continuing professional education.--For a beginning 7 educator who holds an Instructional I or Educational Specialist 8 I certificate who is subject to the requirements of section 9 1205.2 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as 10 the Public School Code of 1949, participation in the program 11 may, at the teacher's discretion, serve as credit towards hours 12 of continuing professional education programs, activities or 13 learning experiences. 14 Section 4. Administration. 15 The department shall implement and administer the program for 16 eligible school districts pursuant to this act. In administering 17 the program, the department shall provide for or contract for 18 all of the following: 19 (1) Establishment of requirements for reviewing and 20 approving local teacher induction programs. 21 (2) Development and administration of a system for 22 ensuring local teacher induction program quality and 23 effectiveness in producing excellent program outcomes. 24 (3) Ensuring that an eligible school district has a 25 local induction plan in place for each participating 26 beginning educator and that the program provides intensive, 27 mentor-based individualized support and assistance to each 28 participating beginning educator that includes a performance- 29 based assessment. 30 (4) Conducting and tracking research related to best 20070H0923B1089 - 4 -
1 practices for teacher induction programs and professional 2 development materials and strategies for personnel involved 3 in implementing induction programs. 4 Section 5. Funding. 5 (a) General rule.--An eligible school district or consortium 6 of eligible school districts shall apply to the department for 7 funding to establish a local teacher induction program pursuant 8 to this act. From amounts appropriated for the purposes of this 9 act, the department shall allocate $1,500 for each beginning 10 educator participating in the program at the eligible school 11 district. To be eligible to receive funding, an eligible school 12 district shall meet all the criteria and standards required by 13 the department. 14 (b) Participation limitation.--State funding for 15 participation in the program by educators who hold a first-level 16 certificate is limited to two years or until the teacher has 17 satisfied requirements for successful completion of the local 18 teacher induction program, whichever occurs first. 19 (c) Funding limitation.--No more than 10% of the total sum 20 appropriated annually shall be granted to any single eligible 21 school district. 22 Section 6. Report. 23 The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the 24 program two years following full implementation and report the 25 findings to the General Assembly. An interim report shall be 26 provided to the General Assembly no later than July 1, 2008, if 27 full funding has not been provided prior to that date. 28 Section 7. Effective date. 29 This act shall take effect July 1, 2007, or immediately, 30 whichever is later. C20L24BIL/20070H0923B1089 - 5 -