PRINTER'S NO. 694
No. 305 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY CONTI, TOMLINSON, CORMAN, ROBBINS, MELLOW AND
SCHWARTZ, MARCH 24, 1999
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, MARCH 24, 1999
AN ACT
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," further providing for continuing
6 professional development and a program for continuing
7 professional education.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Section 1205.1 of the act of March 10, 1949
11 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949,
12 amended or added December 15, 1986 (P.L.1602, No.178) and March
13 30, 1988 (P.L.321, No.43), is amended to read:
14 Section 1205.1. Continuing Professional Development.--(a)
15 By January 1, 1989, every school district, joint school
16 district, intermediate unit and area vocational-technical school
17 shall submit to the Secretary of Education for approval a
18 continuing professional development plan, developed pursuant to
19 the provisions of subsection (b) and including, at a minimum,
20 the elements provided for in subsection (c). The secretary shall
1 determine approximately one-third of the school districts, joint
2 school districts, intermediate units and area vocational-
3 technical schools which shall submit two-year plans, one-third
4 which shall submit three-year plans and one-third which shall
5 submit four-year plans by January 1, 1989. Thereafter, upon the
6 expiration of the existing professional development plan, each
7 school district, joint school district, intermediate unit [and],
8 area vocational-technical school and charter school shall submit
9 to the secretary for approval a [two-year] professional
10 development plan according to an implementation schedule
11 developed by the secretary.
12 (b) The professional development plan provided for in
13 subsection (a) shall be prepared by a committee consisting of
14 teacher representatives chosen by the teachers, educational
15 specialist representatives chosen by educational specialists and
16 administrative representatives chosen by the administrative
17 personnel of the school district, joint school district,
18 intermediate unit [or], area vocational-technical school or the
19 charter school and shall then be approved by the board of
20 directors or the charter school board of trustees prior to
21 submission to the secretary for approval. The secretary may
22 specify the time at which and the form in which such plans are
23 to be submitted. The State Board of Education shall promulgate
24 regulations, subject to the act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633,
25 No.181), known as the "Regulatory Review Act," establishing the
26 minimal content of such plans. The provisions of section 2552
27 shall apply to any school district, joint school district,
28 intermediate unit or area vocational-technical school failing to
29 comply with the provisions of this section.
30 (c) The professional development plan of each school
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1 district, joint school district, intermediate unit [and], area
2 vocational-technical school or charter school as provided for in
3 section 1719-A(13) shall be designed to meet the educational
4 needs of that school entity and its professional employes. Each
5 plan shall include options for professional development [and for
6 fulfilling the professional development requirements of
7 subsection (d), including activities such as professionally
8 related graduate level coursework, obtaining a professionally
9 related master's degree, Department of Education approved
10 inservice courses, curriculum development work, attendance at
11 professional conferences and supervised classroom observations
12 of other professional employes. In its professional development
13 plan, a school district, joint school district, intermediate
14 unit or area vocational-technical school may provide for
15 undertaking joint or cooperative professional development
16 activities with another school entity or an institution of
17 higher education.] which shall specify the continuing
18 professional education collegiate studies, courses or activities
19 and learning experiences approved for continuing professional
20 education under section 1205.2(a)(2)(iv), provided that the plan
21 specifies the professional development need met by completion of
22 each continuing professional education option and its relevance
23 to areas of assignment or certification. Such options may
24 include, but shall not be limited to:
25 (1) collegiate studies;
26 (2) continuing professional education courses;
27 (3) curriculum development work and other program design and
28 delivery activities;
29 (4) participation in professional conferences and workshops;
30 and
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1 (5) supervised classroom observation and critiques of or
2 consultations with other professional employes.
3 In its professional development plan, a school district, joint
4 school district, intermediate unit, area vocational-technical
5 school or charter school may provide for undertaking joint or
6 cooperative professional development activities with another
7 school entity or charter school or an institution of higher
8 education.
9 [(d) All professional employes of school districts, joint
10 school districts, intermediate units or area vocational-
11 technical schools receiving their initial Pennsylvania teaching
12 or administrative certification, as provided for in this
13 article, on or after June 1, 1987, shall be required at least
14 once during every five-year period, commencing upon receipt of a
15 permanent teaching certificate or an initial administrative
16 certificate, to participate in professional development activity
17 pursuant to the professional development plan of that
18 professional employe's school district, joint school district,
19 intermediate unit or area vocational-technical school. A
20 professional employe who obtains a professionally related
21 master's degree shall be deemed to have complied permanently
22 with the provisions of this subsection. The chief school
23 administrator of every school district, joint school district,
24 intermediate unit and area vocational-technical school shall
25 certify annually to the secretary the names of professional
26 employes who have received their initial Pennsylvania teaching
27 or administrative certification on or after June 1, 1987, and
28 the professional development activities in which these employes
29 have participated. The certification shall be made at such time
30 and in such form as the secretary may require.
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1 (e) The provisions of State Board of Education regulations
2 in 22 Pa. Code § 49.17(a) and (b), promulgated September 13,
3 1984, are hereby specifically declared to be contrary to the
4 provisions of this section and therefore null and void. Nothing
5 in this section shall be deemed to affect the provisions of 22
6 Pa. Code § 49.17(c), (d) and (e).]
7 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
8 Section 1205.2. Program for Continuing Professional
9 Education.--(a) A continuing professional education program is
10 hereby established for educators in this Commonwealth. The
11 program shall be established and administered by the Department
12 of Education and shall contain the following elements:
13 (1) Satisfactory completion of one hundred eighty (180)
14 hours of continuing professional education every five (5) years,
15 which shall include any combination of the following:
16 (i) six (6) credits of collegiate study;
17 (ii) six (6) credits of continuing professional education
18 courses; or
19 (iii) one hundred eighty (180) hours of continuing
20 professional education activities and learning experiences. For
21 the purposes of calculating hours and credits of continuing
22 professional education, one credit of collegiate studies or
23 continuing professional education courses shall be equivalent to
24 thirty (30) contact hours of continuing professional education
25 activities and learning experiences.
26 (2) The hours of continuing professional education set forth
27 in clause (1) shall be satisfied by any of the following:
28 (i) Successful completion of credits of collegiate studies
29 in programs or courses related to any area of an educator's
30 assignment or certification conducted at institutions of higher
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1 education approved by the department to provide continuing
2 professional education collegiate studies.
3 (ii) Successful completion of credits of continuing
4 professional education courses related to any area of the
5 educator's assignment or certification and provided by an
6 approved provider.
7 (iii) Successful completion of credits or hours of
8 continuing professional education activities and learning
9 experiences related to any area of an educator's assignment or
10 certification and provided by the Department of Education or by
11 an approved provider or the educator's school entity or charter
12 school.
13 (iv) Successful completion of credits or hours completed in
14 any collegiate studies, continuing professional education
15 courses or continuing professional education activities and
16 learning experiences included in the professional development
17 plan of the educator's entity approved pursuant to section
18 1205.1(c).
19 (v) Successful completion of hours or credits not included
20 in subclauses (i) through (iv) which have the approval of the
21 school entity's chief administrator, the professional
22 development committee referenced in section 1205.1(b) and the
23 local board of school directors or charter school board of
24 trustees. If any of the approving authorities does not approve,
25 the credits or hours not approved shall not be included toward
26 the educator's fulfillment of this requirement.
27 (3) (i) Credits and hours offered by providers of
28 continuing professional education shall be of high quality and
29 designed to significantly advance the goals of improving and
30 updating the professional skills of educators in this
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1 Commonwealth and improving the opportunities to convey knowledge
2 to Pennsylvania's school students.
3 (ii) The Department of Education shall have the sole
4 authority to approve all providers of collegiate studies,
5 continuing professional education courses and continuing
6 professional education activities and learning experiences based
7 on guidelines developed for this purpose, in order to assure the
8 accomplishment of the goals in subclause (i). Approval shall be
9 granted for individual courses or for a series of courses, shall
10 be given for such a period of time as the Department of
11 Education shall prescribe and shall designate the area or type
12 of certification to which the approved collegiate study,
13 continuing professional education course or continuing
14 professional education activity and learning experience is
15 relevant.
16 (iii) The Department of Education shall approve sufficient
17 providers to assure that continuing professional education is
18 available to all educators at convenient locations throughout
19 this Commonwealth and at a reasonable cost.
20 (4) (i) The Department of Education shall provide annually
21 for a minimum of six (6) credits of continuing professional
22 education courses involving subjects determined by the
23 department to be of significant Statewide importance to
24 Pennsylvania's educators and free of any tuition cost to the
25 educator.
26 (ii) Any continuing professional education credits or hours
27 provided by an educator's entity or charter school and required
28 as a condition of continued employment shall be provided free of
29 any tuition cost to the educator.
30 (b) (1) All educators who wish to be employed in a school
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1 entity or charter school in this Commonwealth shall participate
2 in the program.
3 (2) (i) The Secretary of Education shall notify in writing
4 any educator who fails to comply with the provisions of this
5 section and the chief administrator of the educator's school
6 entity or charter school that the educator's certification is
7 inactive.
8 (ii) In the case of an educator who has not complied with
9 the provisions of this section and who is certified but not
10 employed by a school entity or charter school, the Secretary of
11 Education shall notify the educator in writing that the
12 educator's certification is inactive.
13 (iii) Whenever an educator of a charter school does not
14 comply with the provisions of this section and does not hold
15 certification, the Secretary of Education shall notify the
16 educator and the chief administrator of the charter school that
17 the educator may not be employed by the charter school as an
18 educator.
19 (iv) An educator shall be entitled to notice and an
20 opportunity to be heard pursuant to 2 Pa.C.S. Chs. 5 (relating
21 to practice and procedure) and 7 (relating to judicial review)
22 prior to determination under subclauses (i) through (iii).
23 (v) The Secretary of Education shall issue a notification
24 reinstating active certification upon a showing of compliance
25 with this section by the educator.
26 (3) The board, by regulation, shall establish a procedure
27 and criteria for granting an extension to fulfill the
28 requirements of this section due to extenuating circumstances.
29 (4) (i) Educators certified in this Commonwealth who are
30 not employed by a Commonwealth school entity as a professional
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1 or temporary professional employe or as a professional staff
2 member in a charter school in this Commonwealth may apply to the
3 Department of Education for inactive certification.
4 (ii) Inactive certification shall act to suspend the
5 requirements of this section until inactive certification is
6 removed. Upon removal of inactive certification, an educator
7 shall have the same number of continuing professional education
8 hours to complete and the same amount of time in which to
9 complete those hours as existed for the educator at the time
10 inactive certification was granted, provided, that additional
11 hours completed pursuant to subclause (iii) shall be included as
12 continuing professional education hours needed for fulfillment
13 of the requirement of this section.
14 (iii) The Department of Education shall remove inactive
15 certification upon application by the educator and upon evidence
16 of completion of thirty (30) hours of continuing professional
17 education within the previous twelve (12) month period.
18 (5) No educator with inactive certification shall be
19 employed by a school entity as a professional or temporary
20 professional employe or by a charter school as a professional
21 staff member.
22 (c) (1) The Department of Education shall establish and
23 maintain a system of reporting and recordkeeping for all
24 continuing professional education. The system shall include
25 mandatory reporting to the department by school entities,
26 charter schools, approved providers and institutions of higher
27 education for all educators who have completed continuing
28 professional education provided by the school entity, charter
29 school, approved provider or institution of higher education.
30 (2) The Department of Education shall develop a procedure
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1 for prompt identification and notification of educators who have
2 not met the requirements of this section and shall afford any
3 educator reasonable opportunity to access all reports and
4 records relating to that educator's continuing professional
5 education. No later than twelve (12) months prior to the end of
6 an educator's compliance period, the Secretary of Education
7 shall provide to the educator written notice of the educator's
8 recorded credits and hours.
9 (3) The Secretary of Education shall submit an annual report
10 to the chairman and minority chairman of the Appropriations
11 Committee and chairman and minority chairman of the Education
12 Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority chairman
13 of the Appropriations Committee and the chairman and minority
14 chairman of the Education Committee of the House of
15 Representatives. The report shall include information concerning
16 the continuing professional education offered by the Department
17 of Education as required under this act, including, but not
18 limited to, the locations in which the continuing professional
19 education was offered; the number of participants in each
20 offering; the cost to the department of providing continuing
21 professional education; a list of the approved providers of
22 continuing professional education according to this section; the
23 number, identification and status of plans submitted under
24 section 1205.1, the number of educators in each compliance
25 period who have met the continuing professional education
26 requirements of this section and the number of educators in each
27 compliance period who have not met the continuing professional
28 education requirements of this section.
29 (d) The General Assembly shall appropriate funding for the
30 administration of the program by the Department of Education. In
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1 addition, the costs of administering the program by the
2 department shall be financed by the following fees and
3 assessments adopted and collected by the department:
4 (1) A reasonable fee from all approved providers and
5 institutions of higher education for each continuing
6 professional education credit or hour offered; provided, that no
7 fee shall be assessed against school entities and charter
8 schools which provide credits or hours pursuant to subsection
9 (a)(4)(ii).
10 (2) A reasonable assessment from professional educators
11 whenever a certification is initially issued, amended or
12 modified. For purposes of this clause, amendment or modification
13 of a certification shall not include change in name or address
14 or compliance with the requirements of this section.
15 (e) The board shall promulgate such rules and regulations as
16 are necessary to administer and enforce this section.
17 (f) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
18 shall have the following meanings:
19 "Approved provider" shall mean any institution of higher
20 education, school entity, Commonwealth agency, corporation,
21 partnership, association or other entity approved by the
22 Department of Education to offer collegiate studies, continuing
23 professional education courses or continuing professional
24 education activities and learning experiences.
25 "Area of educator's assignment or certification" shall mean
26 any component of the education profession as it relates to the
27 current job title or description of the educator or to any area
28 of certification listed on the educator's Pennsylvania
29 certification or to any type of certificate or endorsement held
30 by the educator.
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1 "Board" shall mean the State Board of Education of the
2 Commonwealth.
3 "Charter school" shall mean a charter school or regional
4 charter school as defined in section 1703-A.
5 "Collegiate studies" shall mean a formal program or course of
6 study at an institution of higher education leading to the award
7 of academic credit.
8 "Compliance period" shall mean the five (5) year period in
9 which an educator must comply with the requirements of this act.
10 "Continuing professional education courses" shall mean
11 courses for credit, other than collegiate studies, conducted by
12 approved providers.
13 "Educator" shall mean any professional educator who holds a
14 Pennsylvania teaching, educational specialist or administrative
15 certification, and any professional staff member of a charter
16 school who does not hold appropriate State certification.
17 "Program" shall mean the continuing professional education
18 program established in this section.
19 "School entity" shall mean a school district, an intermediate
20 unit, a joint school district, an area vocational-technical
21 school, the Scotland School for Veterans' Children, the Scranton
22 School for the Deaf and the Thaddeus Stevens State College of
23 Technology or any of these acting jointly.
24 Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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