A01916
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1660
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY SONNEY, BERNSTINE, DeLUCA, MILLARD, PICKETT, RYAN
AND TOPPER, JUNE 16, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 16, 2021
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 duties and powers of boards of
school directors, further providing for temporary emergency
provisions.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 520.1 of the act of March 10, 1949
(P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, is
amended to read:
Section 520.1. Temporary Emergency Provisions.--[(a)
Whenever an emergency shall arise which the board of school
directors of any school district in the performance of its
duties could not anticipate or foresee, and which emergency
shall result in any such school district being unable to provide
for the attendance of all pupils during the prescribed length of
school days, number of days per week, or usual hours of classes,
it shall be found as a fact by the school directors of any
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
school district and so recorded on the minutes of a regular or
special meeting of such board and certified to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and such board of school
directors, subject to the approval of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, shall have power to put into operation in
such school district any one or more of the temporary provisions
hereinafter provided for, but in no event shall such temporary
provisions remain in effect for a period of more than four years
after they are first put into effect.
(b) Subject to the foregoing provisions, any board of school
directors may:
(1) Keep the schools of the district in session such days
and number of days per week as they shall deem necessary or
desirable, but the provisions of this act requiring a minimum of
one hundred eighty (180) session days as a school year shall not
be affected thereby.
(2) Reduce the length of time of daily instruction for
various courses and classes.
(c) Any school district, by invoking the powers herein
granted, shall not thereby forfeit its right to reimbursement by
the Commonwealth or other State-aid as otherwise provided for by
this act.]
(a) Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year and each school
year thereafter, whenever an emergency shall arise which the
board of school directors of a school district in the
performance of its duties could not anticipate or foresee, and
which emergency shall result in five (5) or more consecutive
school days of being unable to provide for in-person instruction
of pupils under sections 1327 and 1501, the board of school
directors shall have the power to put into operation the
A01916 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
temporary emergency provisions under subsection (b) by a two-
thirds majority vote of the board of school directors. In no
event shall the temporary emergency provisions remain in effect
for a period of more than sixty (60) days after the temporary
emergency provisions are first put into effect unless an
extension is approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the board
of school directors. The board of school directors shall hold at
least one public hearing prior to the vote to extend temporary
emergency provisions.
(a.1) A board of school directors shall have sixty (60) days
after a vote to approve temporary emergency provisions under
subsection (a) to implement the temporary emergency provisions.
The board of school directors shall provide a written plan for
the implementation of the temporary emergency provisions which
includes, at a minimum:
(1) An explanation of why the temporary emergency provisions
are necessary.
(2) How long the temporary emergency provisions will are
expected to be in effect.
(a.2) The school district shall publish the written plan
under subsection (a.1) on its publicly accessible Internet
website.
(b) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, a board of
school directors may:
(1) Keep the schools of the district in session such days
and number of days per week as the board of school directors
deems necessary or desirable, but the provisions of this act
requiring a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) session days as
a school year shall not be affected by this paragraph.
(2) Reduce the length of time of daily instruction for
A01916 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
various courses and classes.
(c) Any school district, by invoking the powers under this
section, shall not forfeit the school district's right to
reimbursement by the Commonwealth or other State-aid as
otherwise provided for by this act.
(d) The department shall issue guidelines within thirty (30)
days of the effective date of this section for implementation of
this section. The guidelines shall be published on the
department's publicly accessible Internet website.
(e) As used in this section, the term "emergency" shall mean
an event that prevents a school building from opening due to any
of the following:
(1) A communicable health issue or incident.
(2) A hazardous weather condition.
(3) A law enforcement emergency.
(4) The inoperability of school buses or other equipment
necessary to the public school entity's operation.
(5) Damage to a school building.
(6) Another temporary circumstance rendering any portion of
a school building unfit or unsafe for use.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
A01916 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21