Regular Session 2021-2022 Senate Bill 0770 P.N. 0924

PRINTER'S NO. 924

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

No.

770

Session of

2021

INTRODUCED BY HAYWOOD, HUGHES, L. WILLIAMS, SCHWANK, COMITTA,

FONTANA, STREET, COSTA, KANE, KEARNEY, BREWSTER AND MUTH,

JUNE 21, 2021

REFERRED TO EDUCATION, JUNE 21, 2021

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled

"An act relating to the finances of the State government;

providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for

ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint

Underwriting Association, for entertainment business

financial management firms, for private dam financial

assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for

the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,

bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the

collection and recovery of fees and other money or property

due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,

the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds

and securities belonging to or in the possession of the

Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the

Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the

courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the

Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and

all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting

moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,

authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes

to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of

section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of

Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of

certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every

department, board, commission, and officer of the State

government, every political subdivision of the State, and

certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,

association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or

collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws

imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or

other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the

Commonwealth," in general budget implementation, further

providing for State System of Higher Education.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 1737-E of the act of April 9, 1929

(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended to read:

Section 1737-E. State System of Higher Education [(Reserved)].

(a) Appropriation.--Subject to subsection (d), no later than

July 1, 2021, the sum of $9,000,000 is appropriated from the

General Fund to the State System of Higher Education in

accordance with subsections (b) and (c).

(b) Use of funds.--The following shall apply to the money

appropriated under subsection (a):

(1) Not less than $2,000,000 shall be used by the State

System of Higher Education to develop programs that support

the recruitment of, provide mentorship for and support

underrepresented minority faculty and underrepresented

minority student populations with student-facing and

leadership roles within the State System of Higher Education .

(2) Not less than $2,500,000 shall be used by the State

System of Higher Education to support the educational

progress of underrepresented minority student populations by

diversifying the general education curriculum and redesigning

key general education courses. Progress of underrepresented

minority student populations shall be analyzed using metrics,

including those approved by the Board of Governors of the

State System of Higher Education.

( 3) Not less than $2,500,000 shall be used by the State

System of Higher Education to support the educational

progress of underrepresented minority student populations by

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providing professional development support for faculty with a

focus on instructional and other practices that demonstrably

improve outcomes for underrepresented minority student

populations. Progress of underrepresented minority student

populations shall be analyzed using metrics, including those

approved by the Board of Governors of the State System of

Higher Education.

(4) Not less than $2,000,000 shall be used by the State

System of Higher Education to significantly improve campus

climates for underrepresented minority student populations

through support of their educational progress and support and

training of members of university-based community response

teams that are assembled to address reported incidents of

bias and discrimination. Improving campus climates shall

include the effective use of restorative justice, student

codes of conduct, general community education and awareness

raising and shall build on a review conducted by an expert

group of legal and regulatory frameworks focusing on the

First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352 ,

78 Stat. 241, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.).

Education shall ensure that each program or support specified in

subsection (b) shall be:

(1) g rounded in research and evidence-based;

(2) have clear and measurable goals, including

milestones and deliverables against which progress can be

evaluated; and

(3) managed at the university level according to a

common framework that shall be developed by the universities

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working in partnership and supported by the Office of the

Chancellor of the State System of Higher Education.

(d) Expenditure deadline.--The appropriation under paragraph

(a) shall not lapse. The State System of Higher Education shall

use the funding by no later than July 1, 2026, to support

diversity, equity and inclusion programs in accordance with the

requirements of subsections (b) and (c).

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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