PRINTER'S NO. 967
No. 893 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY GEIST, BAKER, BARD, BATTISTO, BELARDI, BROWNE, BUXTON, CLARK, CORRIGAN, DALEY, FICHTER, GIGLIOTTI, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, HESS, HORSEY, LAUGHLIN, MAHER, ORIE, PESCI, PHILLIPS, PIPPY, PLATTS, READSHAW, ROBERTS, SAINATO, SAYLOR, SERAFINI, SEYFERT, STERN, SURRA, TIGUE, TULLI, WALKO, WILT AND ZUG, MARCH 15, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 15, 1999
AN ACT 1 Providing for the establishment of pilot educational boot camp 2 programs; and making an appropriation. 3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 4 hereby enacts as follows: 5 Section 1. Short title. 6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Educational 7 Boot Camp Act. 8 Section 2. 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 "Boot camp personnel." Persons who have been honorably 13 discharged from the United States Armed Forces, have an 14 instructional specialty and are responsible for supervising 15 activities and providing instruction. 16 "Department." The Department of Education of the
1 Commonwealth. 2 "Educational boot camp." A program in which eligible 3 students are provided with rigorous physical activity, intensive 4 regimentation, discipline and continuing academic studies under 5 the direct supervision of boot camp personnel. 6 "Eligible student." A student in grades seven through 12, 7 identified by the school entity, who has failed to comply with 8 disciplinary policies established by the school entity. 9 "School entity." A school district or area vocational- 10 technical school. 11 "Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth. 12 Section 3. Educational boot camp program. 13 (a) Establishment.-- 14 (1) The board of school directors of any school district 15 may establish an educational boot camp program. 16 (2) The board of school directors of any school 17 district, consistent with section 1106 of the act of March 18 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 19 1949, may hire necessary boot camp personnel. 20 (3) The board of school directors of any school district 21 may select a site on property presently owned by the school 22 district that is adequate to provide education for the number 23 of students identified by the school entity. 24 (b) Program objectives.--The following shall be the 25 objectives of the program: 26 (1) To protect the health and safety of the general 27 student population by providing a program for eligible 28 students which will promote proper classroom behavior and 29 reduce recidivism. 30 (2) To provide an alternative placement for eligible 19990H0893B0967 - 2 -
1 students who ordinarily would face suspension or expulsion 2 from school. 3 (3) To provide discipline and academic instruction for 4 eligible students. 5 (4) To utilize the experience and expertise of honorably 6 discharged members of the United States Armed Forces. 7 Section 4. Rules and regulations. 8 The secretary shall have the duty to promulgate guidelines, 9 which shall include, but not be limited to, programming, 10 supervision and administration. The department shall provide 12 11 weeks of intensive training for all boot camp personnel. The 12 training shall include pedagogical instruction. 13 Section 5. Certification of boot camp personnel. 14 (a) Waiver.--The secretary shall have the authority to waive 15 certification requirements for individuals who successfully 16 complete educational boot camp personnel training. 17 (b) Pursuit of certification.--Boot camp personnel must 18 pursue teacher certification through an approved teacher 19 certification program and must obtain certification within six 20 years of the date of initial employment. 21 Section 6. Pilot project. 22 (a) Grants.--The department shall make available one-time 23 grants for pilot educational boot camp projects in the 1997-1998 24 school year. The grants shall provide start-up funding which may 25 be used for boot camp personnel training, supplies or education 26 materials. A grant shall not exceed $25,000. 27 (b) Evaluation.--The department shall monitor and evaluate 28 the educational boot camp programs to ensure that the 29 programmatic objectives are met. The department shall present 30 annual reports of the evaluations to the Education Committee of 19990H0893B0967 - 3 -
1 the Senate and the Education Committee of the House of 2 Representatives no later than February 1 of each year. 3 Section 7. Appropriation. 4 The sum of $200,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary, 5 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education for grants 6 for pilot educational boot camp projects under this act. 7 Section 8. Effective date. 8 This act shall take effect in 60 days. C4L24JS/19990H0893B0967 - 4 -