PRINTER'S NO. 1248
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
981
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY HARKINS, COHEN, DRISCOLL, THOMAS, SCHREIBER,
V. BROWN, LONGIETTI, SCHLOSSBERG, BIZZARRO, SCHWEYER, HARHAI,
C. PARKER, O'BRIEN, CONKLIN, D. COSTA, FRANKEL, SAMUELSON,
CARROLL, McCARTER, BROWNLEE, MURT AND ROEBUCK, APRIL 16, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, APRIL 16, 2015
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," making editorial changes.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 502 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30,
No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, amended May 9,
1949 (P.L.939, No.263), is amended to read:
Section 502. Additional Schools and Departments.--In
addition to the elementary public schools, the board of school
directors in any school district may establish, equip, furnish,
and maintain the following additional schools or departments for
the education and recreation of persons residing in said
district, and for the proper operation of its schools, namely:--
High schools,
Trade schools,
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Vocational schools,
Technical schools,
Cafeterias,
Agricultural schools,
Evening schools,
Kindergartens,
Libraries,
Museums,
Reading-rooms,
Gymnasiums,
Playgrounds,
Schools for [physically and mentally handicapped] children
with physical and mental disabilities,
Truant schools,
Parental schools,
Schools for adults,
Public lectures,
Such other schools or educational departments as the
directors, in their wisdom, may see proper to establish.
Said additional schools or departments, when established,
shall be an integral part of the public school system in such
school district and shall be so administered.
No pupil shall be refused admission to the courses in these
additional schools or departments, by reason of the fact that
his elementary or academic education is being or has been
received in a school other than a public school.
Section 2. Section 925(f) of the act, added July 24, 1970
(P.L.613, No.205), is amended to read:
Section 925. Powers and Duties.--
(f) (1) Any county board of school directors may make
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contracts of insurance with any insurance company, or nonprofit
hospitalization corporation, or nonprofit medical service
corporation, authorized to transact business within the
Commonwealth, insuring its employes, their spouses and
dependents and retired employes under a policy or policies of
group insurance covering life, health, hospitalization medical
service, or accident insurance, and for such purposes may agree
to pay part or all of the premiums or charges for carrying such
contracts, and may include the cost of such charges in its
estimate of the cost of operating and administering classes or
schools for [handicapped and institutionalized] children with
physical and mental disabilities to be operated by the county
board during the ensuing school year. No contract or contracts
of insurance authorized by this section shall be purchased from
or through any person employed by the county board in a teaching
or administrative capacity.
(2) The county board of school directors is hereby
authorized to deduct from the employe's pay, salary, or
compensation, such part of the premium as is payable by the
employe and as may be so authorized by the employe in writing.
(3) All contracts procured hereunder shall conform and be
subject to all the provisions of any existing or future laws
concerning group insurance contracts.
Section 3. Section 923.2-A of the act, added October 10,
1980 (P.L.924, No.159), is amended to read:
Section 923.2-A. Visual Services.--(a) Legislative Finding;
Declaration of Policy. [Defects] Impairments in vision are
health-related. It is today recognized that the diagnosis and
evaluation of those [defects] impairments and the rendering of
instruction in skills appropriate for the education, safety and
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independence of children afflicted by visual impairments are
closely related to their physical, mental and emotional health.
Such services can best be rendered upon the premises of the
school which the child regularly attends and forcing children to
go to other premises in order to have such needed services is
found by the General Assembly to be both inadequate and harmful.
The General Assembly expressly finds and declares diagnostic,
evaluative and instructional services for such children to be
health services and it is the intention of the General Assembly
now to make these available, on a general and even-handed basis
to all school children in the Commonwealth.
(b) Definitions. As used in this section:
"Nonpublic school" means any nonprofit school, other than a
public school within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, wherein a
resident of the Commonwealth may legally fulfill the compulsory
school attendance requirements and which meets the requirements
of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352).
"Visual services" means diagnostic, evaluative and
instructional visual services for children.
(c) Provision of Services. The Secretary of Education,
directly or through the intermediate units out of their
allocation under section 922.1-A shall have the power and duty
to furnish free to nonpublic school students, upon the premises
of the nonpublic schools which they regularly attend, services
adequate for the diagnosis and evaluation of visual [defects]
impairments and instruction and training in skills advisable for
the education, independence and safety of such children,
including but not limited to mobility training, provided that
such services are also afforded to public school students by the
public school district in which such nonpublic school is
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located.
Section 4. Section 1328 of the act is amended to read:
Section 1328. Compulsory Education of Physical [Defectives]
Impairments.--Every parent, guardian, or other person, having
control or charge of any child of compulsory school age who is
deaf or blind, [or is so crippled,] or whose hearing or vision
is so [defective] impaired as to make it impracticable to have
such child educated in the public schools of the district in
which he is a resident, shall allow such child to be sent to
some school where proper provision is made for the education of
the deaf, or of the blind, [or of crippled children,] or shall
provide for the tuition of such child by a legally certified
private tutor.
Section 5. Section 1338 of the act, amended November 17,
1995 (1st Sp.Sess., P.L.1110, No.29), is amended to read:
Section 1338. Dependent Children.--In case any child of
compulsory school age cannot be kept in school in compliance
with the provisions of this act, on account of incorrigibility,
truancy, insubordination, or other [bad] inappropriate conduct,
or if the presence of any child attending school is detrimental
to the welfare of such school, on account of incorrigibility,
truancy, insubordination, or other [bad] inappropriate conduct,
the board of school directors may, by its superintendent,
secretary, attendance officer or State, municipal, port
authority, transit authority or housing authority police
officer, under such rules and regulations as the board may
adopt, proceed against said child before the juvenile court, or
otherwise, as is now or may hereafter be provided by law for
incorrigible, truant, insubordinate, or dependent children.
Section 6. Section 1372(3) of the act, amended August 24,
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1977 (P.L.199, No.59), is amended to read:
Section 1372. Exceptional Children; Education and
Training.--* * *
(3) Special Classes or Schools Established and Maintained by
School Districts. Except as herein otherwise provided, it shall
be the duty of the board of school directors of every school
district to provide and maintain, or to jointly provide and
maintain with neighboring districts, special classes or schools
in accordance with the approved plan. The Secretary of Education
shall superintend the organization of such special classes and
such other arrangements for special education and shall enforce
the provisions of this act relating thereto. If the approved
plan indicates that it is not feasible to form a special class
in any district or to provide such education for any such child
in the public schools of the district, the board of school
directors of the district shall secure such proper education and
training outside the public schools of the district or in
special institutions, or by providing for teaching the child in
his home, in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by
the Department of Education, on terms and conditions not
inconsistent with the terms of this act or of any other act then
in force applicable to such children. However, the institution
of special classes and programs at the secondary level for
exceptional children who are gifted and talented students may be
deferred until September 1978 at the discretion of the board of
the school directors of any school district.
In addition to the above and in accordance with rules and
regulations prescribed by the Department of Education,
[homebound] instruction shall be provided for children confined
in detention homes as provided in section 7, act of June 2, 1933
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(P.L.1433, No.311), as amended, at the detention home for the
period of their confinement, if their confinement exceeds or is
expected to exceed ten days, even though such children are not
exceptional.
* * *
Section 7. Section 1376(a) of the act, amended July 4, 2004
(P.L.536, No.70), is amended to read:
Section 1376. Cost of Tuition and Maintenance of Certain
Exceptional Children in Approved Institutions.--(a) When any
child between school entry age and twenty-one (21) years of age
and resident in this Commonwealth, who is blind or deaf, or has
cerebral palsy and/or neurological impairment and/or muscular
dystrophy and/or is [mentally retarded] developmentally disabled
and/or has a serious emotional [disturbance] disability and/or
has autism/pervasive developmental disorder and is enrolled,
with the approval of the Department of Education, as a pupil in
an approved private school approved by the Department of
Education, in accordance with standards and regulations
promulgated by the State Board of Education, the school district
in which such child is resident or, for students placed by a
charter school, the charter school in which the student was
enrolled shall pay the greater of either twenty per centum (20%)
of the actual audited cost of tuition and maintenance of such
child in such school, as determined by the Department of
Education, or its "tuition charge per elementary pupil" or its
"tuition charge per high school pupil," as calculated pursuant
to section 2561, and the Commonwealth shall pay, out of funds
appropriated to the department for special education, the
balance due for the costs of such child's tuition and
maintenance, as determined by the department. For the school
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years 1989-1990, 1990-1991 and 1991-1992, the school district
payment shall be no greater than forty percent (40%) of the
actual audited costs of tuition and maintenance of such child in
such school. For the 1992-1993 school year through the 2003-2004
school year, the school district or charter school payment shall
be the greater of forty percent (40%) of the actual audited
costs of tuition and maintenance of such child in such school,
as determined by the Department of Education, or its "tuition
charge per elementary pupil" or its "tuition charge per high
school pupil," as calculated pursuant to section 2561, and the
Commonwealth shall pay, out of funds appropriated to the
department for approved private schools, the balance due for the
costs of such child's tuition and maintenance, as determined by
the department. For the 2004-2005 school year and each school
year thereafter, the school district or charter school payment
shall be the greater of forty percent (40%) of the approved
tuition rate as established pursuant to subsection (c.3) or
(c.5) or the school district or charter school's "tuition
charges per elementary pupil" or "tuition charges per secondary
pupil" as calculated under section 2561, and the Commonwealth
shall pay out of funds appropriated to the department for
approved private schools the balance of the approved tuition
rate due for the cost of such child's tuition and maintenance.
The department will credit the district of residence with
average daily membership for such child consistent with the
rules of procedure developed in accordance with section 2501. If
the residence of such child in a particular school district
cannot be determined, the Commonwealth shall pay the whole cost
of tuition and maintenance of such child as established under
subsection (c.3) or (c.5).
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* * *
Section 8. Section 1377 of the act, amended May 31, 1979
(P.L.33, No.11), December 17, 1982 (P.L.1378, No.316) and July
8, 1989 (P.L.253, No.43), is amended to read:
Section 1377. Payment of Cost of Tuition and Maintenance of
Certain Exceptional Children.--(a) To facilitate payments by
the several school districts to the schools or institutions in
which children who are deaf or blind, or cerebral palsied and/or
brain damaged and/or muscular dystrophied, or socially and
emotionally [disturbed] disabled or [mentally retarded children]
developmentally disabled are enrolled, of amounts due by such
districts for their proportion of the cost of tuition and
maintenance of such children, the Secretary of Education shall
withhold from any moneys due to such districts out of any State
appropriation for the assistance as reimbursement of school
districts, the amounts due by such districts to such schools or
institutions for the blind or the deaf, or the cerebral palsied
and/or brain damaged and/or muscular dystrophied or the socially
and emotionally [disturbed] disabled and/or [mentally retarded]
developmentally disabled. Amounts so withheld shall be
specifically appropriated to the Department of Education.
(b) Payments of the Commonwealth's proportion of the cost of
tuition and maintenance of pupils who are blind or deaf, or
cerebral palsied and/or brain damaged and/or muscular
dystrophied, or socially and emotionally [disturbed] disabled
and/or [mentally retarded pupils] developmentally disabled and
are enrolled in schools or institutions for the blind or for the
deaf, or for the cerebral palsied and/or brain damaged and/or
muscular dystrophied, or for the socially and emotionally
[disturbed] disabled and of the cost of instruction of parents
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of blind pupils less than school entry age, as hereinbefore
provided, shall be made quarterly, out of moneys appropriated to
the Department of Education for special education. Except for
the provisions of section 1376.1 providing for the actual cost
of tuition and maintenance of certain exceptional children in
the four chartered schools for education of the deaf and of the
blind, in no event shall the total payment for the cost of
tuition and maintenance of any such child exceed the rates per
year allowed under section 1376. The maximum amount payable for
the cost of tuition and maintenance of such children shall be
subject to review at least once every two years for the purpose
of recommending an adjustment thereof.
(c) For the purpose of enabling the Department of Education
to determine from time to time what amounts are due to schools
for the blind or for the deaf or for the cerebral palsied and/or
brain damaged and/or muscular dystrophied or for the socially
and emotionally [disturbed] disabled and/or [mentally retarded]
developmentally disabled hereunder, such schools shall forward
to the department, at such times and in such form as the
department shall prescribe, sworn statements setting forth the
names, ages, and residences of all pupils enrolled hereunder,
specifying the school districts liable for a part of the cost of
tuition and maintenance of any such pupils, the per capita cost
of and maintenance of pupils, and such other information as the
department shall require.
For the purpose of providing adequate administration of the
program and to carry out the preaudit functions authorized in
section 1376(a), one-half of one percent (.50%) of the total
appropriations for approved private schools from all funds shall
be allocated to the Department of Education.
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(d) When, during the course of the 1982-1983 school year,
programs for exceptional children are caused to be transferred
from schools or institutions for the blind or deaf, or cerebral
palsied or brain damaged or muscular dystrophied or [mentally
retarded] developmentally disabled, or socially and emotionally
[disturbed] disabled, as provided for in sections 1376 and
1376.1, to school districts or intermediate units, as provided
for in sections 2509 and 2509.1, under unanticipated or
emergency circumstances, and when such transfers necessitate the
transfer of funds from the appropriation to the Department of
Education for special education for approved private schools to
the appropriation to the Department of Education for payments on
account of special education of exceptional children in public
schools, the Secretary of Education shall be empowered so to
transfer such funds, upon approval of the Secretary of the
Budget and written notification to the State Treasurer and the
chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations and Education
Committees.
Section 9. Section 1377.1 of the act, added December 20,
1983 (P.L.267, No.73), is amended to read:
Section 1377.1. Transfer of Funds for Transferal Programs.--
When, during the course of a school year or after the end of a
school year, programs for exceptional children are caused to be
transferred from schools or institutions for the blind or deaf,
or cerebral palsied or brain damaged or muscular dystrophied or
[mentally retarded] developmentally disabled, or socially and
emotionally [disturbed] disabled, as provided for in sections
1376 and 1376.1, to school districts or intermediate units, as
provided for in sections 2509 and 2509.1, and when such
transfers necessitate the transfer of funds from the
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appropriation to the Department of Education for special
education for approved private schools to the appropriation to
the Department of Education for payments on account of special
education of exceptional children in public schools, the
Secretary of Education shall be empowered to transfer such
funds, upon approval of the Secretary of the Budget and written
notification to the State Treasurer and the chairmen of the
House and Senate Appropriations and Education Committees.
Section 10. Sections 1378 and 1379 of the act are amended to
read:
Section 1378. Medical Care for Children Under Six with
[Defective] Impaired Hearing.--Whenever the county medical
director of the Department of Health reports to the medical
examiner of any school district a case of a minor under six (6)
years of age, who is totally deaf or whose hearing is impaired,
who is not receiving adequate care and treatment, and whose
parent or guardian is financially unable to provide the same,
such medical examiner shall provide such care and treatment at
the expense of the school district or of the Commonwealth, as
the case may be, charged by law with the providing of medical
examinations for the schools of the school district. Such care
and treatment may be administered by the medical examiner or by
some doctor of medicine selected by him.
Section 1379. Children Under Six with [Defective] Impaired
Hearing; Parent or Guardian Advised of Schools, etc.--Whenever
notified by the Department of Health of the case of a minor
under six (6) years of age, who is totally deaf or whose hearing
is impaired, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, when in
his judgment the same is deemed desirable, shall communicate to
the parent or guardian the location of any special schools, and
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also the nearest public school having special classes for the
instruction of the hard of hearing, with the information
concerning the advantages offered by such school or classes, the
benefits to accrue to the child from attending such school or
classes, and the manner in which the expenses of such
instruction will be provided for.
Section 11. Section 1414 of the act, added July 15, 1957
(P.L.937, No.404), is amended to read:
Section 1414. Care and Treatment of Pupils.--Any school
district or joint school board may provide for the care and
treatment of [defective] impaired eyes, ears and teeth of all
children of school age within the district.
Section 12. Section 1502-E(b) of the act, added July 4, 2004
(P.L.536, No.70), is amended to read:
Section 1502-E. Character education program.
* * *
(b) Curriculum contents.--The program may include and teach
the following basic civil values and character traits:
(1) Trustworthiness, including honesty, integrity,
reliability and loyalty.
(2) Respect, including regard for others, tolerance and
courtesy.
(3) Responsibility, including hard work, economic self-
reliance, accountability, diligence, perseverance and self-
control.
(4) Fairness, including justice, consequences of [bad]
inappropriate behavior, principles of nondiscrimination and
freedom from prejudice.
(5) Caring, including kindness, empathy, compassion,
consideration, generosity and charity.
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(6) Citizenship, including love of country, concern for
the common good, respect for authority and the law and
community mindedness.
* * *
Section 13. Section 2108 of the act is amended to read:
Section 2108. Qualifications of Principals and Teachers.--
The board of public education in each school district of the
first class shall prescribe the mode or modes of determining the
qualifications of applicants for positions as principals or
teachers in the schools of the district, and shall designate the
kinds or grades of teachers' certificates which may or shall be
used in the district, together with the scholastic,
professional, and personal qualifications required for each kind
or grade of certificate.
No certificate shall be granted to any person who is not of
good moral character, or to any person who shall not first have
presented a certificate, from a physician recognized by the
board of public education as competent for the purpose, setting
forth that said applicant is neither mentally nor physically
disqualified by reason of tuberculosis, or any other chronic or
acute physical [defect] impairment, from successfully performing
the duties of a teacher.
Section 14. Section 2501(11) of the act, amended September
12, 1961 (P.L.1277, No.560), is amended to read:
Section 2501. Definitions.--For the purposes of this article
the following terms shall have the following meanings:
* * *
(11) "Actual Instruction Expense Per Elementary Teaching
Unit, Actual Instruction Expense Per Elementary Teaching Unit in
a Laboratory School of a State-owned College, Actual Instruction
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Expense Per Secondary Teaching Unit, Actual Instruction Expense
Per Secondary Teaching Unit in a Laboratory School of a State-
owned College, Actual Instruction Expense Per Joint Elementary
Teaching Unit, Actual Instruction Expense Per Joint Secondary
Teaching Unit, Actual Instruction Expense Per Area Technical
School Teaching Unit." In 1958 in the month of September and
thereafter annually in the month of September, the Department of
Public Instruction shall calculate for each school district for
the immediately preceding school year the actual instruction
expense per elementary teaching unit for elementary pupils
educated in the district's public schools, the actual
instruction expense per secondary teaching unit for secondary
pupils educated in the district's public schools, the actual
instruction expense per joint elementary teaching unit for
elementary pupils educated in elementary schools of jointures of
which the district is a member, the actual instruction expense
per joint secondary teaching unit for secondary pupils educated
in secondary schools of jointures of which the district is a
member, the actual instruction expense per area technical school
teaching unit for pupils educated in area technical schools in
which the district participates, the actual instruction expense
per elementary teaching unit for elementary pupils residing in
the district and educated in the public schools of other
districts within the Commonwealth, and the actual instruction
expense per secondary teaching unit for secondary pupils
residing in the district and educated in the public schools of
other districts within the Commonwealth. In each case, actual
instruction expense per teaching unit shall be the sum of (i)
and (ii) below but in no case shall include expenses for debt
service, capital outlay, rentals of capital facilities and
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equipment, salaries and expenses for school nurses, for medical
and dental services, for driver education courses, for
reimbursable transportation of pupils, for tuition paid to other
school districts, for reimbursable board and lodging in lieu of
transportation, for salaries of directors and supervisors of
special education, public school psychologists, principals of
special schools and assistants, teachers of approved special
classes for [physically and mentally handicapped] children with
physical and mental disabilities, clerks and assistants employed
in programs for special education, for school district
contributions to the retirement fund on behalf of directors and
supervisors of special education, public school psychologists,
principals of special schools and assistants, teachers of
approved special classes for [physically and mentally
handicapped] children with physical and mental disabilities,
clerks and assistants employed in programs for special
education, for the cost of textbooks and supplies of the second
class used in special education classes or schools, for
extension schools and classes, for extension recreation
activities, for vocational extension education, or for
instruction of [homebound] children who are taught at home. (i)
Expenses of general control per teaching unit. Expenses of
general control shall include: salaries, supplies and other
expenses of the secretary's office; commission or salary of
treasurer, tax collector, auditors and legal service; expenses
of census enumeration and other expenses of business
administration; salaries of the superintendent of schools and
clerks of the superintendent of schools; expenses of supplies
and other expenses of the superintendent of schools' office; and
other expenses of general control. In the case of computation of
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actual instruction expense per elementary teaching unit for
district pupils educated in the schools of the district and for
district pupils educated in the public schools of other
districts within the Commonwealth and actual instruction expense
per secondary teaching unit for district pupils educated in the
schools of the district and for district pupils educated in the
public schools of other districts within the Commonwealth,
expenses of general control per teaching unit shall be
calculated by dividing the foregoing listed expenses of general
control of the school district by the number of teaching units
based on the number of all pupils who are residents of the
school district and are in average daily membership in the
public schools of the Commonwealth. In the case of computation
of actual instruction expense per joint elementary teaching unit
and actual instruction expense per joint secondary teaching
unit, expenses of general control per teaching unit shall be
calculated by dividing the foregoing listed expenses of general
control of the school district by the number of teaching units
based on the number of all pupils who are residents of the
school district and are in average daily membership in the
public schools of the Commonwealth, and adding thereto the
quotient obtained by dividing the foregoing listed expenses of
general control of the joint school district by the number of
joint teaching units based on the number of pupils who are
residents of school districts that are members of the joint
school district and are in average daily membership in the
schools of the joint school district. In the case of computation
of actual instruction expense per area technical school teaching
unit, expenses of general control per teaching unit shall be
computed by dividing the foregoing listed expenses of general
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control of the school district by the number of teaching units
based on the total number of all pupils who are residents of the
school district and are in average daily membership in the
public schools of the Commonwealth, and adding thereto the
quotient obtained by dividing the foregoing listed expenses of
general control of the area technical school by the number of
area technical school teaching units based on the number of
pupils who are residents of districts participating in the area
technical school and are in average daily membership in the area
technical school. (ii) Expenses of the school district, joint
school district, area technical school, or such other school
district within the Commonwealth in which the districts' pupils
are educated, as the case may be, on account of instruction,
auxiliary agencies and coordinate activities, operation of
school plant, maintenance of school plant, and fixed charges,
and each separately for elementary and for secondary schools,
per teaching unit, calculated by dividing the sums of (a), (b),
(c), (d), and (e) below by the numbers of elementary, secondary,
joint elementary, joint secondary, and area technical school
teaching units, respectively, based on the number of all pupils
on an equivalent full-time basis in average daily membership in
the public schools of the district, or joint district, or the
area technical school, or other school district within the
Commonwealth in which pupils of the district are educated, as
the case may be; (a) expenses of instruction, to include
salaries of supervisors and other expenses of supervisors,
salaries of principals and principals' clerks, supplies of the
principals' offices, other expenses of supervision, teachers'
and teacher-librarians, salaries, textbooks, library books,
supplies used in instruction including library supplies,
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expenses of attending teachers' institutes, commencement
exercise and exhibit expenses, and other expenses of
instruction, (b) expenses of auxiliary agencies and coordinate
activities, to include salaries, books, repairs, replacements,
and other expenses of public libraries, and non-reimbursable
transportation and board and lodging in lieu of transportation,
and provisions for tubercular and undernourished children,
community lectures, social centers and recreation, enforcement
of attendance, and other expenses of auxiliary agencies and
coordinate activities, (c) expenses of operation of school
plant, to include wages of janitors and other employes, fuel,
water, light, power, janitors' supplies, care of grounds,
services other than personal, telephone rental, and other
expenses of operation, (d) expenses of maintenance of school
plant, to include upkeep of grounds, repair of buildings,
repairs and replacements, heating, plumbing, lighting, apparatus
used in instruction, furniture, and other equipment, (e)
expenses of fixed charges, to include payments made to the
retirement board, rent, all insurance, and other fixed charges:
Provided, That the actual instruction expense for elementary
teaching unit for district pupils educated in the elementary
grades of a laboratory school of a State-owned college and the
actual instruction expenses for secondary teaching unit for
district pupils educated in the high school grades of a
laboratory school of a State-owned college shall be computed by
(i) dividing the total amount of money paid to the State-owned
college by the resident district for the education of all
resident elementary children enrolled in a laboratory school of
a State-owned college by the number of such elementary teaching
units based on the total number of such resident children in
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average daily membership in the laboratory school, (ii) dividing
the total amount of money paid to the State-owned college by the
resident district for the education of all resident secondary
children enrolled in a laboratory school of a State-owned
college by the number of such secondary teaching units based on
the total number of such resident children in average daily
membership in the laboratory school. The teaching units are
computed on the basis of thirty (30) equivalent full time
elementary children and twenty-two (22) equivalent full time
secondary children.
* * *
Section 15. Section 2509(b) of the act, amended August 5,
1991 (P.L.219, No.25), is amended to read:
Section 2509. Payments on Account of Courses for Exceptional
Children.--* * *
(b) To find the "instruction cost per special class pupil,"
add (1) salaries of directors and supervisors of special
education, public school psychologists, principals of special
schools and assistants, teachers of approved special classes for
exceptional children, clerks and assistants employed in the
district's program for special education, (2) the district's
contribution to the retirement fund on behalf of directors and
supervisors of special education, public school psychologists,
principals of special schools and assistants, teachers of
approved special classes for exceptional children, clerks and
assistants employed in the district's program for special
education, (3) the cost of textbooks and supplies of the second
class used in the district's special education classes or
schools, (4) the cost of telephonic system equipment which
enables [handicapped] children with physical and mental
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disabilities to remain in their homes and still participate in
classroom activities. Divide the sum of (1), (2), (3), and (4)
on that part thereof which is approved by the Department of
Education for reimbursement by the total number of pupils,
including those pupils who have available for use telephonic
system equipment whereby they may remain at home and still
participate in classroom activities, in average daily membership
in the district's approved special classes for exceptional
children. The quotient so obtained shall be the "instruction
cost per special class pupil."
* * *
Section 16. Section 2510.1 of the act, amended June 30, 2011
(P.L.112, No.24), is amended to read:
Section 2510.1. Payments on Account of [Homebound] Children
Who Are Taught at Home.--Every school district, regardless of
classification, shall be paid by the Commonwealth for the school
year 1966-1967, and for each school year thereafter, on account
of the instruction of [homebound] children who are taught at
home, an amount determined by multiplying the mandated minimum
hourly rate for instructing [homebound] children who are taught
at home by the district's aid ratio. Payments made to school
districts for the instruction of [homebound] children who are
taught at home shall only be made to the extent funds are
appropriated for this purpose.
Section 17. Section 2517(e) of the act, added July 11, 2006
(P.L.1092, No.114), is amended to read:
Section 2517. Payments.--* * *
(e) The Secretary of Education, with the approval of the
Governor, may make basic education funding allocation payments
to school districts, in advance of the dates set forth in this
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section to school districts which are financially [handicapped]
burdened, when the secretary deems it necessary to enable the
school district to keep their public schools open.
Section 18. Section 2541(b)(3) of the act, amended November
20, 1979 (P.L.465, No.97), is amended to read:
Section 2541. Payments on Account of Pupil Transportation.--
* * *
(b) Such payments for pupil transportation shall be made in
the following cases:
* * *
(3) To all school districts, for the transportation of
[physically or mentally handicapped] children with physical and
mental disabilities regularly enrolled in special classes
approved by the Department of Education or enrolled in a regular
class in which approved educational provisions are made for
them.
* * *
Section 19. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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