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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY SMUCKER, PICCOLA, BAKER, RAFFERTY, FOLMER, EICHELBERGER, ALLOWAY, ERICKSON, ARGALL, BRUBAKER, WAUGH AND WILLIAMS, APRIL 12, 2012 |
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| REFERRED TO EDUCATION, APRIL 12, 2012 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An |
2 | act relating to the public school system, including certain |
3 | provisions applicable as well to private and parochial |
4 | schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the |
5 | laws relating thereto," providing for open campus |
6 | initiatives. |
7 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
8 | hereby enacts as follows: |
9 | Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known |
10 | as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an |
11 | article to read: |
12 | ARTICLE XV-G |
13 | OPEN CAMPUS INITIATIVES |
14 | Section 1501-G. Legislative intent. |
15 | It is the intent of the General Assembly to encourage |
16 | collaborative partnerships between school districts for the |
17 | purpose of providing expanded access to high-quality curricula |
18 | to students in a cost-effective manner through the use of |
19 | technology. |
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1 | Section 1502-G. Definitions. |
2 | The following words and phrases when used in this article |
3 | shall have the meaning given to them in this section unless the |
4 | context clearly indicates otherwise: |
5 | "Department." The Department of Education of the |
6 | Commonwealth. |
7 | "Nonparticipating school entity." A school district, which |
8 | is not a party to a cooperative agreement between school |
9 | districts, a charter school, cyber charter school, nonpublic |
10 | school or home education program provided under section 1327.1. |
11 | "Open campus initiative." A program established under |
12 | section 1503-G. |
13 | "Participating school district." A school district which is |
14 | party to the cooperative agreement between school districts |
15 | establishing the open campus initiative. |
16 | Section 1503-G. Open campus initiatives. |
17 | (a) Establishment.--An open campus initiative may be |
18 | established between school districts through a cooperative |
19 | agreement. |
20 | (b) Courses.--Courses of an open campus initiative may be |
21 | delivered outside of a school building in whole or in part using |
22 | technology that may include the Internet, video conferencing or |
23 | other electronic means. |
24 | (c) Grades, credit, promotion and graduation.--Course |
25 | grades, credit, promotion and graduation policies for students |
26 | participating in open campus initiative courses shall be |
27 | determined by the school district, charter school, cyber charter |
28 | school, nonpublic school or evaluator of a home education |
29 | program in which the student is enrolled and the cooperative |
30 | agreement between the participating school districts. |
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1 | (d) Student eligibility requirements.--Eligibility |
2 | requirements for student participation in open campus initiative |
3 | courses shall be determined by the school district, charter |
4 | school, cyber charter school, nonpublic school or supervisor of |
5 | a home education program in which each student is enrolled and |
6 | the cooperative agreement between the participating school |
7 | districts. |
8 | (e) Nonparticipating school entities.--A cooperative |
9 | agreement between participating school districts may provide for |
10 | students attending a nonparticipating school entity to |
11 | participate in an open campus initiative course. |
12 | (f) Compulsory attendance requirements.--The time during |
13 | which a student participates in open campus initiative courses |
14 | shall be considered to be compliant with the compulsory |
15 | attendance requirements of section 1327. |
16 | (g) Student participation.--The school district, charter |
17 | school, cyber charter school, nonpublic school or home education |
18 | program in which the student is enrolled shall ensure that a |
19 | student participating in open campus initiative courses is |
20 | engaged in at least 990 hours of instruction at the secondary |
21 | level and 900 hours of instruction at the elementary level. |
22 | (h) Technical assistance.--The department shall provide |
23 | technical assistance as needed to school districts establishing |
24 | and operating an open campus initiative. |
25 | Section 1504-G. Cooperative agreements. |
26 | (a) Contents.--School districts desiring to establish and |
27 | operate an open campus initiative shall develop and enter into a |
28 | cooperative agreement that shall, at a minimum, include: |
29 | (1) A policy for grading, credit and promotion of |
30 | students participating in open campus initiative courses. |
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1 | (2) A policy for participation of students from |
2 | participating school districts which shall include minimum |
3 | academic and attendance criteria. |
4 | (3) A policy for participation of students from |
5 | nonparticipating school entities, which includes a fee |
6 | schedule for determining tuition charges for courses |
7 | delivered to those students, if the participating school |
8 | districts allow participation of students from |
9 | nonparticipating school entities. |
10 | (4) A policy for discipline and removal of students from |
11 | open campus initiative courses. |
12 | (5) Information about the attribution of student data to |
13 | the school district, charter school, cyber charter school, |
14 | nonpublic school or home education program in which the |
15 | student is enrolled, including student assessment data. |
16 | (6) Information about the sharing of costs between the |
17 | participating school districts. |
18 | (7) Information about the use and distribution of |
19 | tuition revenue. |
20 | (8) Processes for adding and removing open campus |
21 | initiative courses. |
22 | (9) Processes for termination of the open campus |
23 | initiative. |
24 | (b) Adoption by boards of school directors.--Each open |
25 | campus initiative cooperative agreement shall be adopted by |
26 | majority vote of the board of school directors of each of the |
27 | participating school districts. |
28 | Section 1505-G. Reimbursements by the Commonwealth. |
29 | For the purpose of making reimbursements under Article XXV, a |
30 | student participating in an open campus initiative shall be |
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1 | considered to be enrolled in the school district, charter |
2 | school, cyber charter school, nonpublic school or home education |
3 | program which determines the student's eligibility for |
4 | participation in the open campus initiative. |
5 | Section 1506-G. Parental and public information. |
6 | All policies related to an open campus initiative shall be |
7 | made accessible to parents and posted on the participating |
8 | school districts' publicly accessible Internet websites. |
9 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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