PRINTER'S NO. 2578
No. 1824 Session of 1990
INTRODUCED BY RHOADES, REIBMAN, BRIGHTBILL, BAKER, CORMAN,
GREENWOOD, SALVATORE, HOLL, HESS, AFFLERBACH AND LaVALLE,
NOVEMBER 12, 1990
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, NOVEMBER 12, 1990
AN ACT
1 Providing for the establishment, organization and operation of
2 an administrative body to be known as the State Education
3 Improvement Task Force; providing for its powers and duties;
4 and making appropriations.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the State
9 Education Improvement Task Force Act.
10 Section 2. Declaration of policy.
11 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
12 (1) The General Assembly believes education
13 restructuring is critical to the future growth and
14 development of this Commonwealth and recognizes that
15 continuing the status quo in our educational system will not
16 result in the improvements in student skills, knowledge and
17 abilities needed for our students to enjoy a high quality of
18 life in today's highly technical world, to perform at the
1 required levels to meet the demands of today's and tomorrow's
2 job market or to prepare themselves properly at an
3 institution of higher education.
4 (2) The General Assembly believes all children have a
5 responsibility to learn and all children should attend
6 schools where they will be expected to acquire the cognitive
7 knowledge and skills essential to becoming productive members
8 of this Commonwealth.
9 (3) The subject matter/content offered to our students,
10 the equipment/materials available to our students, the
11 instructional staff available to our students, and the
12 instructional pedagogy varies from school to school
13 throughout our Commonwealth while every student is expected
14 to compete in an ever-expanding State, national and
15 international society and economy.
16 (4) The problems facing schools vary from one district
17 to another and even one school to another within a district.
18 Therefore, the school community needs flexibility to meet the
19 challenge of educating all of the children under its charge
20 and a prime purpose of this act is to provide the school
21 community with the flexibility it needs to meet this
22 challenge.
23 (5) By giving the State Education Improvement Task Force
24 specific charges, the General Assembly is signaling to the
25 schools of this Commonwealth that it does intend to tell the
26 schools what core knowledge and skills should be mastered by
27 their students and that it does intend to hold schools
28 accountable for meeting acceptable educational standards.
29 Section 3. Definitions.
30 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
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1 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
2 context clearly indicates otherwise:
3 "Department." The Department of Education of the
4 Commonwealth.
5 "Task force." The State Education Improvement Task Force
6 established under section 4.
7 Section 4. State Education Improvement Task Force.
8 There is hereby established a task force to be known as the
9 State Education Improvement Task Force. It shall be the
10 responsibility of the task force to undertake and to accomplish
11 the following projects in the following sequence:
12 (1) Determine what specific cognitive knowledge and
13 skills each student should have at the time of graduation
14 from high school. The specific knowledge and skills selected
15 should be what is necessary to enable each student to live
16 and work in a local, State, national and international
17 society and economy.
18 (2) Develop specific subject area curriculum studies
19 which will enable students to progress at their individual
20 ability and rate without failure, and also enable students to
21 accelerate their program of learning into advanced placement
22 programs.
23 (3) Develop specific accountability standards and
24 accountability measurement mechanisms consisting of a
25 comprehensive assessment measured by norm testing, criterion-
26 referenced testing and/or performance-based testing by which
27 parents, community leaders, teachers, administrators, school
28 board members and State officials can determine whether
29 schools and school districts are accomplishing their mission
30 of educating our children of this Commonwealth.
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1 (4) Determine how schools can be restructured in order
2 to aid them in meeting educational accountability standards.
3 (5) Develop a comprehensive plan and structure for
4 providing extensive professional development training for
5 educators by providing the flexibility needed to meet the
6 educational accountability standards.
7 (6) Develop specific parent enabling strategies to help
8 schools engage parents actively in their children's
9 educational programs and practices.
10 (7) Establish a system of incentives to be used in those
11 schools and school districts that meet or exceed
12 accountability standards.
13 (8) Establish a system of sanctions to be used in those
14 schools and school districts that do not meet accountability
15 standards.
16 (9) Recommend statutory changes needed to implement
17 effective educational policy and practices to the Governor,
18 the State Board of Education, the Education Committee of the
19 House of Representatives and the Education Committee of the
20 Senate.
21 Section 5. Membership and organization of the task force.
22 (a) Membership.--The task force shall consist of:
23 (1) Four members of the General Assembly, one appointed
24 by the President pro tempore of the Senate, one by the
25 Minority Leader of the Senate, one by the Speaker of the
26 House of Representatives and one by the Minority Leader of
27 the House of Representatives.
28 (2) One member of the State Board of Education's Council
29 of Basic Education as determined by the Chairman of the State
30 Board of Education.
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1 (3) The Secretary of Education or the Commissioner for
2 Basic Education of the Department of Education as determined
3 by the Governor.
4 (4) Two school superintendents, one of whom shall come
5 from a suburban/urban school district, and one of whom shall
6 come from a rural school district.
7 (5) Two school principals, one of whom shall be a
8 certified elementary principal, and one of whom shall be a
9 certified secondary principal.
10 (6) Two teachers, one of whom shall be a certified
11 elementary teacher, and one of whom shall be a certified
12 secondary teacher.
13 (7) Two members from the general public, one of whom
14 shall be an elected public school director.
15 (8) Three members of a college or university, one of
16 whom shall come from a private college or university, one of
17 whom shall come from a public college or university, and one
18 of whom shall come from a college or university offering
19 approved education programs.
20 (9) One member from the Pennsylvania industrial
21 manufacturers.
22 (10) Two members from the business community.
23 (11) Two members from the labor community.
24 (12) One member who is currently enrolled in a high
25 school program in this Commonwealth.
26 (13) One member who shall be a parent of a pupil
27 attending a public school in this Commonwealth. In making
28 appointments under paragraph 4 through 13 inclusive, the
29 Governor shall consider recommendations from panels of
30 nominees submitted by the Statewide organizations; however,
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1 the Governor shall not be limited to nominating members of
2 Statewide organizations for appointments to the task force. A
3 person appointed to the task force who leaves this
4 Commonwealth to become domiciled in another state or whose
5 employment status changes to a category different from that
6 for which he was appointed shall have his position on the
7 task force vacated. The appointing person shall appoint a
8 replacement for any vacancies.
9 (b) Organization.--
10 (1) Not later than two months after the effective date
11 of this act the initial meeting of the task force shall be
12 held. The Governor shall convene and chair this initial
13 meeting. Members of the task force shall select a chairperson
14 and such other officers as may be necessary.
15 (2) The sequence of activities for the task force shall
16 be prioritized as follows:
17 (i) cognitive knowledge and skills defined;
18 (ii) curriculum and instruction development;
19 (iii) accountability and assessment standards;
20 (iv) school restructuring;
21 (v) professional development and training;
22 (vi) parent enabling strategies;
23 (vii) incentives;
24 (viii) sanctions; and
25 (ix) statutory recommendations.
26 (c) Deadline.--All activities shall be completed and the
27 task force report submitted to the Governor, the State Board of
28 Education, the Education Committee of the House of
29 Representatives and the Education Committee of the Senate by
30 July 1, 1992. The report shall contain an implementation plan.
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1 Section 6. Staff.
2 The department shall provide adequate space, staff and
3 equipment to facilitate the activities of the task force. The
4 collaborative involvement and the contribution of on-going
5 research and developing theories and practices of the
6 legislative committees, colleges, universities and school
7 districts is encouraged.
8 Section 7. Appropriations.
9 (a) Fiscal year 1990-1991.--The sum of $500,000, or as much
10 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the
11 Department of Education for the exclusive use of the State
12 Education Improvement Task Force for fiscal year July 1, 1990,
13 to June 30, 1991, to carry out the purpose of this act.
14 (b) Fiscal year 1991-1992.--The sum of $500,000, or as much
15 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the
16 Department of Education for the exclusive use of the State
17 Education Improvement Task Force for fiscal year July 1, 1991,
18 to June 30, 1992, to carry out the purpose of this act.
19 Section 8. Effective date.
20 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
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