PRINTER'S NO. 3495
No. 2525 Session of 2000
INTRODUCED BY SAYLOR, COLAFELLA, STAIRS, HERMAN, BENNINGHOFF,
BISHOP, BROWNE, DALLY, EACHUS, FLEAGLE, GRUCELA, HARHART,
HORSEY, HUTCHINSON, LaGROTTA, McILHATTAN, McNAUGHTON,
R. MILLER, NICKOL, PLATTS, SATHER, SCHULER, SCRIMENTI,
SEMMEL, B. SMITH, STEELMAN, STETLER, TULLI, VAN HORNE AND
WILT, MAY 4, 2000
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MAY 4, 2000
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," providing for an academic
6 intervention and recovery program for academically distressed
7 schools; and making an appropriation.
8 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9 hereby enacts as follows:
10 Section 1. Article XV of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30,
11 No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by
12 adding a subarticle to read:
13 (e) Academically At-Risk Schools and School Districts;
14 Academically Distressed School Districts.
15 Section 1561. Declaration of Purpose.--The Commonwealth of
16 Pennsylvania is required, pursuant to section 14 of Article III
17 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania to provide for a thorough
18 and efficient system of public education for all students. The
1 General Assembly finds disturbing evidence that, while most
2 schools and school districts are providing quality education
3 services in the year 1999-2000, there are some schools and
4 school districts that are struggling to provide that quality
5 education. The new Information Age requires an educated
6 citizenry more than ever before. The future of this Commonwealth
7 and country depends on the education of its citizens. Therefore,
8 the General Assembly enacts this legislation in fulfillment of
9 its responsibility to intervene when there is convincing
10 evidence that schools and school districts are not successfully
11 achieving adequate educational results. The reasons for
12 academically distressed schools and school districts are
13 complex. Many of the severe academic difficulties encountered by
14 some students are attributable to deplorable living conditions
15 outside of school. Providers of educational services work very
16 hard to alleviate the effects of such problems on a daily basis,
17 but the providers of such services must be the primary focus of
18 intervention. The purpose of the General Assembly is not to
19 punish but to provide support and technical assistance to
20 improve the education achieved by these affected students. The
21 Commonwealth cannot afford to continue to lose these affected
22 children to a life of academic failure.
23 Section 1562. Definitions.--The following words and phrases
24 shall have the meanings given to them in this section:
25 (1) "Academically at-risk school buildings" are public
26 schools located in a targeted school district, including charter
27 schools, having less than seventy (70) per centum of the
28 students on the School Building Approved Testing List reaching
29 satisfactory achievement in reading and mathematics. School
30 buildings having less than seventy (70) per centum of all
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1 students reaching satisfactory achievement in reading and
2 mathematics shall not be declared academically at-risk under
3 section 1563 but shall be eligible for funds under this
4 subarticle.
5 (2) "Academically distressed school district" shall mean a
6 school district identified under section 1567(b).
7 (3) "Academic Recovery Oversight Committee" shall mean a
8 committee composed of the Secretary of Education, who shall
9 serve as chair, and gubernatorial appointees representing the
10 following organizations: Pennsylvania Association of School
11 Administrators, Pennsylvania School Boards Association,
12 Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials,
13 Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers, Pennsylvania State
14 Education Association and Pennsylvania Parent-Teachers
15 Association.
16 (4) "Intervention team" shall mean a group selected by the
17 Academic Recovery Oversight Committee composed of eleven experts
18 selected to assist an academically at-risk school building under
19 section 1564 from a Statewide pool of individuals whose
20 credentials, experience and expertise are reviewed and approved
21 every five (5) years by the State Board of Education. This team
22 shall include two reading specialists, two mathematics
23 specialists, two early childhood specialists, one special
24 education specialist, one community planner, one social worker,
25 one professional development specialist and one
26 budget/management specialist. At least six (6) members of the
27 team shall have had actual experience in teaching children in
28 public schools for six (6) years or more, holding proper
29 credentials to teach in the jurisdiction in which they served.
30 (5) "Implementation team" shall mean a group of five (5)
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1 individuals selected by the Academic Recovery Oversight
2 Committee to assist an academically at-risk school building
3 under section 1564 from a pool of individuals skilled and
4 experienced in successful educational institutions with specific
5 skill and experience in the development and implementation of
6 successful curricula in reading and mathematics as reviewed and
7 certified by the State Board of Education. The pool shall
8 include certificated teachers and administrators, school board
9 members, school business officials, academic experts or
10 consultants and others deemed qualified by the Secretary of
11 Education and the State Board of Education. Names of qualified
12 individuals may be submitted to the secretary by professional
13 organizations, unions or other interested citizens. No less than
14 two of the members of the implementation team shall have served
15 on the intervention team for that school district.
16 (6) "Satisfactory achievement in reading and mathematics"
17 shall mean achieving a passing grade in the standardized tests
18 in reading and mathematics administered under the Pennsylvania
19 System of School Assessment by the Department of Education,
20 subject to the following:
21 (i) A passing grade in the tests shall be as established by
22 the department in accordance with regulations adopted by the
23 State Board of Education.
24 (ii) Once established, the passing grade shall not be
25 changed and periodic changes in the tests themselves shall be
26 made so as to assure the continuing validity of the tests and
27 the continuity of the passing grade as measuring the same degree
28 of achievement.
29 (iii) The State Board of Education shall exercise continuing
30 oversight of the tests to assure all of the following:
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1 (A) Validity, reliability and integrity.
2 (B) Proper administration and scoring and interpretation.
3 (C) Continuing updating and validation.
4 (iv) All students not enrolled in alternative education
5 programs shall be required to take the exams.
6 (v) Results shall not be considered reliable, and the tests
7 must be readministered, if fewer than ninety (90) per centum of
8 such students completed the exams.
9 (vi) Scores of students who are not on a school building
10 approved testing list shall be reported separately.
11 (vii) A passing grade may be adjusted to take into account
12 children with disabilities including the nature of their
13 disabilities.
14 (viii) Participation in Pennsylvania System of School
15 Assessment testing of a student who has an individualized
16 education program will be determined on a case-by-case basis by
17 the appropriate individualized education program team. A
18 statement of a modification in administration of Pennsylvania
19 System of School Assessment testing needed in order for the
20 student to participate shall be included in the student's
21 individualized education program. If that team determines that a
22 student will not participate in the Pennsylvania System of
23 School Assessment testing, a statement on the student's
24 individualized education program shall indicate the following:
25 (A) The reason why participation in the Pennsylvanian System
26 of School Assessment testing is not appropriate for the student.
27 (B) The method by which the student shall be assessed.
28 (7) "School building approved testing list" shall mean a
29 list of students who have been enrolled in the school district
30 for at least three (3) years and in the school building for at
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1 least one (1) year.
2 (8) "Targeted school district" shall mean a school district
3 placed on an academic watch-list under section 1563(b).
4 Section 1563. Identification of Academically At-Risk School
5 Buildings and Targeted School Districts.--A school shall be
6 declared an academically at-risk school building as follows:
7 (1) All school districts in this Commonwealth shall be
8 ranked in the order of those having the highest percentage of
9 students in each school district not reaching satisfactory
10 achievement in reading and mathematics as defined and measured
11 in accordance with section 1562(1).
12 (2) The ten school districts ranked as having the highest
13 percentage of students not reaching satisfactory achievement in
14 reading and mathematics shall be placed on an academic watch-
15 list of targeted school districts.
16 (3) School buildings within each of the ten school districts
17 placed on the academic watch-list of targeted school districts
18 shall be ranked with the other school buildings within the same
19 district, with those having the most students not having
20 satisfactory achievement in reading and mathematics ranked
21 highest. At least one building in each targeted school district,
22 starting with the highest ranked, shall be declared an
23 academically at-risk school building in accordance with this
24 subarticle. The number of academically at-risk school buildings
25 designated in any given year shall depend on the funds available
26 from the Academic Recovery Fund established under section 1565.
27 If all academically at-risk school buildings in a targeted
28 school district successfully achieve their goals, the school
29 district shall be removed from the watch list and the next
30 highest ranked school district may be added until twenty school
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1 districts have been assisted. The General Assembly shall then
2 determine whether to repeal, amend or extend the provisions of
3 this subarticle.
4 Section 1564. Support and Assistance for Academically At-
5 Risk School Buildings.--(a) The Academic Recovery Oversight
6 Committee shall appoint an intervention team in each of the ten
7 targeted school districts to diagnose the reasons for lack of
8 academic achievement in the academically at-risk school
9 buildings. The intervention team shall prepare an academic
10 recovery plan to improve academic achievement at those
11 buildings. The intervention team may seek the assistance of
12 other experts or consultants as necessary. All necessary
13 expenses and per diem compensation to the intervention team
14 shall be submitted to be approved and paid by the department
15 from the Academic Recovery Fund established under section 1565.
16 (b) To develop the academic recovery plan, the intervention
17 team shall work with school board members, school personnel,
18 parents of enrolled students in the targeted school district and
19 community representatives.
20 (1) The academic recovery plan shall include the following:
21 (i) Specific short-term intermediate and long-term goals.
22 (ii) The actions required to achieve each goal.
23 (iii) The individuals responsible for the attainment of each
24 goal.
25 (iv) A timeline for completion of each goal and a budget for
26 attaining the goals.
27 (v) Fiscal guidelines provided to each intervention team by
28 the Academic Recovery Oversight Committee, based on the moneys
29 available from the Academic Recovery Fund.
30 (2) The Academic Recovery Plan shall take effect immediately
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1 after the final approval of the plan by the Academic Recovery
2 Oversight Committee and shall continue in effect for three (3)
3 school years for the academically at-risk school building and
4 may be modified as necessary from time to time.
5 (3) The Academic Recovery Plan for each academically at-risk
6 school building may include but need not be limited to:
7 (i) Programs and operational changes designed to make the
8 school and its programs more accessible to parents and guardians
9 of students and to promote parental involvement in their
10 children's education.
11 (ii) Parenting and parent education classes and workshops to
12 help parents interact with their children, with on-site child
13 care to alleviate parental stress and financial burden.
14 (iii) Training programs for parents and guardians of
15 students in facilitating and reinforcing the teaching of reading
16 and mathematics.
17 (iv) Class size reductions to no more than eighteen students
18 per classroom in grades kindergarten through three to utilize
19 the extensive body of research indicating the interrelationship
20 between class size reductions and long-term student academic
21 performance improvement.
22 (v) Districtwide curricula where classroom instruction and
23 assessment are reflective of the State standards and
24 assessments, and where the grade kindergarten through twelve
25 experience is a cumulative progression toward achievement of
26 these State standards.
27 (vi) Policies to eliminate violence, disruption, threats of
28 violence and intimidation. Every academically at-risk school
29 building shall establish and equitably enforce a discipline code
30 that is understandable by teachers, students and parents.
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1 (vii) Individualize instruction programs and individualize
2 instruction or tutoring in reading and mathematics for low-
3 achieving youngsters, such as the Reading Recovery Program.
4 (viii) After-school programs for students who are at risk,
5 whose parents are employed beyond the school day and who need
6 academic support or supervised leisure time activities to keep
7 them engaged.
8 (ix) Concentrated and focused staff training and development
9 programs, including professional development activities that
10 focus on establishing that school principals are educational
11 leaders rather than managers and administrators. Such training
12 shall include a component that is an outgrowth of the State
13 standards and the curricula that reflect these State standards.
14 (x) Expanded recruitment programs to attract and retain
15 licensed teachers and other school personnel.
16 (xi) Expanded purchase of text books, materials and supplies
17 related to delivery of curricula and standards.
18 (xii) Programs for enhanced nutrition, health, social
19 services and safety, including ways to promote assistance by
20 State and county agencies to parents and local government,
21 business and community organizations.
22 (xiii) Policies to reduce rates of transiency within the
23 student body and programs to assist transient students who do
24 enroll in the student body of the building.
25 (xiv) Provision of guidance counselors, home and school
26 visitors and other similar intervention specialists to deal with
27 the social and emotional needs of at-risk students and provide
28 support to their families.
29 (xv) Programs to reduce absenteeism, including, but not
30 limited to, obtaining social services for families in distress.
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1 (xvi) Peer assistance and mentoring programs for teachers
2 and other providers of educational services and enhanced
3 decision-making power for such providers.
4 (xvii) Enhanced physical plant for health and safety and for
5 instructional delivery.
6 (xviii) Purchase and installation of the infrastructure
7 necessary to support alternative instructional delivery methods,
8 enhanced communication with parents and teachers and
9 administrator productivity, with voice, video and data
10 capabilities.
11 (xix) Programs for expanded full-day kindergarten for
12 children four (4) and five (5) years of age.
13 (xx) Application to the Commonwealth for elimination of
14 matching fund requirements in any State program that has such a
15 requirement, if the team recommends that the building should
16 participate in that program.
17 (xxi) Such other programs as the intervention team shall
18 consider necessary and proper.
19 (4) The intervention team shall structure the academic
20 recovery plan so that the lowest achieving students receive
21 assistance on a prioritized basis.
22 (c) The intervention team shall present the academic
23 recovery plan, together with a detailed listing of budgetary
24 requirements for its implementation, to the board of school
25 directors of the targeted school district at a regularly
26 scheduled public meeting within ninety (90) days of the
27 appointment of the intervention team. The board of school
28 directors shall act upon the plan no later than the next
29 regularly scheduled meeting after such presentation. If the
30 board of school directors votes to endorse the plan, the plan
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1 shall be submitted to the Academic Recovery Oversight Committee
2 for approval. If the board of school directors refuses to
3 endorse the plan, it shall transmit the plan and a statement of
4 its reasons for disapproval to the Academic Recovery Oversight
5 Committee. Upon receipt of these documents, the Academic
6 Recovery Oversight Committee shall, within thirty (30) days,
7 either approve the plan as submitted by the intervention team or
8 request that the intervention team make appropriate improvements
9 to the plan. A revised plan must be resubmitted to the board of
10 school directors and, in turn, by the board, with its approval
11 or statement of concerns, to the Academic Recovery Oversight
12 Committee within thirty (30) days for final action which must be
13 taken within ten (10) days thereafter.
14 (d) The secretary, upon approval, shall immediately fund the
15 approved budget from the Academic Recovery Fund created under
16 section 1565.
17 (e) Upon approval of the academic recovery plan, the
18 Academic Recovery Oversight Committee shall appoint an
19 implementation team for each targeted school district.
20 (f) An approved academic recovery plan shall be transmitted
21 to the implementation team for its immediate implementation. The
22 implementation team shall provide guidance, advice, technical
23 assistance and direction to the board of school directors in
24 implementing the plan. All officials and employes of the school
25 district shall be required to provide full cooperation to the
26 implementation team. All exclusive representatives of bargaining
27 units operating under the provisions of the act of July 23, 1970
28 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the "Public Employe Relations Act,"
29 shall meet with the implementation team and the school district
30 and discuss ways and means to implement the plan. Memoranda of
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1 understanding or supplemental agreements, in writing, shall
2 establish the understandings and mutual obligations reached. If
3 the implementation team determines that, after twelve (12)
4 months, it is not receiving the cooperation necessary to
5 implement the academic recovery plan, it shall report this
6 finding to the Academic Recovery Oversight Committee which shall
7 have standing to and may initiate in the appropriate county
8 court of common pleas appropriate injunctive or other legal
9 proceedings to enforce compliance with the plan. The
10 implementation team shall submit all necessary documentation and
11 invoices, as well as quarterly reports of progress, to the
12 Academic Recovery Oversight Committee for approval and
13 submission to the department. The department shall pay the
14 expenses of implementation as well as the reasonable and
15 necessary expenses and per diem compensation of members of the
16 implementation team.
17 Section 1565. Academic Recovery Fund.--There is hereby
18 established an Academic Recovery Fund to carry out the
19 provisions of this subarticle. The secretary shall request such
20 appropriations as are necessary to annually fund the preparation
21 and implementation of the academic recovery plans created and
22 approved in accordance with this subarticle.
23 Section 1566. Mandatory Subject of Bargaining.--(a) Upon
24 the effective date of this subarticle, implementation of the
25 academic recovery plan in the targeted school district shall
26 become a mandatory subject of bargaining as defined in section
27 701 of the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the
28 "Public Employe Relations Act," notwithstanding any provision of
29 law to the contrary, until the goals of the academic recovery
30 plan are achieved.
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1 (b) Specific provisions of future collective bargaining
2 agreements in a targeted school district shall be negotiated in
3 cooperation with the academic recovery plan in effect in an
4 academically at-risk school building. Should implementation of
5 the plan require expedited procedures for evaluation, discipline
6 or discharge of bargaining unit members, or suspension of the
7 tenure provisions of Article XI, such procedures shall become
8 mandatory subjects of bargaining. If the collective bargaining
9 agreement does not contain provisions securing due process or
10 requiring just cause for such actions, such provisions shall
11 also become mandatory subjects of bargaining. Should
12 implementation of the plan raise the possibility of elimination
13 or subcontracting of positions held by bargaining unit members,
14 the rules governing such actions shall become mandatory subjects
15 of bargaining.
16 (c) Failure to reach agreement on any of the mandatory
17 subjects of bargaining detailed in subsections (a) and (b) by
18 the expiration date of the existing collective bargaining
19 agreement shall result in the immediate submission of all such
20 issues remaining unresolved to final last best offer arbitration
21 under the procedures described in section 1125-A(c) through (l).
22 The determination of the majority of the arbitrators shall be
23 final and binding. Any final binding arbitration under this
24 section shall be concluded in no more than sixty (60) days from
25 the expiration date of the collective bargaining agreement and
26 shall go into effect immediately, notwithstanding failure to
27 conclude negotiations on any other provisions of the agreement,
28 in which case the provisions of Article XI-A and the "Public
29 Employe Relations Act" shall continue to apply to the remaining
30 provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
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1 Section 1567. Termination of Academically At-Risk School
2 Building Status.--(a) Annually, the implementation team shall
3 report to the Academic Recovery Oversight Committee on its
4 progress in meeting the goals. At the end of three (3) years,
5 the implementation team shall submit a comprehensive written
6 report to the Academic Recovery Oversight Committee. The
7 comprehensive written report shall include:
8 (1) A determination by the implementation team as to
9 whether:
10 (i) Less or more than twenty-five (25) per centum of the
11 students in the district are attending academically at-risk
12 schools.
13 (ii) The academic recovery plan was adequately funded.
14 (2) A recommendation by the implementation team of one of
15 the following alternatives:
16 (i) Elimination of at-risk status based on the academically
17 at-risk school building reaching satisfactory achievement in
18 reading and mathematics.
19 (ii) Continuation of at-risk status for up to two (2)
20 additional years for an academically at-risk school building
21 based on measured improvement and achievement of goals and re-
22 evaluation at the end of that two (2) year extension.
23 (iii) Declaration of academically distressed school district
24 status and implementation of the measures described under
25 section 1568 targeted at academically at-risk school buildings
26 because the academically at-risk school building failed to reach
27 satisfactory achievement in reading and mathematics.
28 (b) The Academic Recovery Oversight Committee shall consider
29 the recommendations of the implementation team and, where
30 indicated, terminate academically at-risk school building
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1 status, continue academically at-risk school building status, or
2 make a declaration of academic distress for the school district.
3 In no case shall the Academic Recovery Oversight Committee
4 declare a school district academically distressed if the
5 implementation team makes a determination under subsection
6 (a)(1) that:
7 (1) Less than twenty-five (25) per centum of the students in
8 the district are attending academically at-risk schools.
9 (2) The Academic Recovery Plan was not adequately funded.
10 Section 1568. Academically Distressed School Districts.--
11 Upon declaring a school district as academically distressed, the
12 following steps shall be taken:
13 (1) The secretary shall petition the court of common pleas
14 of the county in which such school district or the largest part
15 in area of such school district is located to appoint two
16 citizens who shall be qualified electors and taxpayers in the
17 county in which the school district is located to serve, with
18 the secretary or his designee on a Special Board for Academic
19 Recovery. Members of the Special Board for Academic Recovery
20 shall reflect a balance of educational and business experience
21 and qualifications. School directors and employes of the school
22 district under supervision shall be ineligible for appointment
23 by the court. Vacancies occurring because of death or
24 resignation of appointed members of the board shall be filled by
25 the court.
26 (2) The Special Board for Academic Recovery shall operate
27 the school district in place of the school directors during the
28 period necessary to reestablish a sound academic program in the
29 district as determined by the success in achieving the goals
30 established by the intervention team and the secretary, in
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1 accordance with subsection (c):
2 (i) The Special Board for Academic Recovery shall:
3 (A) Assume control of an academically distressed school
4 district.
5 (B) Develop a comprehensive diagnosis with specific reasons
6 why the goal of the academic recovery plan were not met.
7 (C) Review and revise the academic recovery plan for each
8 academically at-risk school building with specific
9 recommendations to meet the goals of the academic recovery plan
10 based on the diagnosis in clause (A), including provision for
11 district-wide recommendations necessary to achieve plan goals
12 and implement the plan.
13 (D) Exercise all the powers and duties of an elected school
14 board under this act and all the powers and duties of a Special
15 Board of Control under sections 693 and 694.
16 (ii) The Special Board for Academic Recovery shall have the
17 authority to take the following actions consistent with the
18 academic recovery plan:
19 (A) Adopt a comprehensive discipline policy for all
20 academically at-risk schools. The comprehensive discipline
21 policy shall cover violence, disruption, threats of violence,
22 weapons and intimidation of students or staff and provide for
23 immediate expulsion of students who, after notice and hearing,
24 are found to be in violation, subject to applicable provisions
25 of Federal and State law relating to appropriate placement of
26 such students elsewhere and/or referral to the Juvenile Justice
27 System of this Commonwealth.
28 (B) Establish a charter school for students at academically
29 at-risk schools pursuant to section 1717-A(b). For purposes of
30 this paragraph:
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1 (I) Professional staff members of such a charter school
2 shall hold appropriate State certification.
3 (II) Section 1717-A(b)(3) and (c) through (i) shall not
4 apply.
5 (C) Develop a restructuring plan for academically at-risk
6 school buildings, if necessary, to meet the goals of the
7 academic recovery plan. The restructuring plan may include
8 actions to reallocate resources and reassign staff and students.
9 (D) Implement the restructuring plan developed pursuant to
10 paragraph (C) after a public hearing for the school district's
11 constituents to review and comment on the plan. The
12 restructuring plan shall be considered an approved alteration of
13 the educational program for purposes of section 1124(2).
14 (c) The Special Board for Academic Recovery shall recommend
15 the termination of academically distressed school district
16 status upon seventy (70) per centum of the students in all
17 schools of the district obtaining satisfactory achievement in
18 reading and mathematics as otherwise defined and measured
19 pursuant to section 1562(1).
20 (d) Upon the recommendation by the Special Board for
21 Academic Recovery, the secretary shall petition to the court of
22 common pleas for termination of the declaration of academic
23 distress. The court of common pleas shall do the following:
24 (1) Grant the petition if the conditions in subsection (c)
25 have been met.
26 (2) Dissolve the Special Board for Academic Recovery.
27 (3) At the discretion of the court of common pleas either
28 reinstate the board of school directors or order the election of
29 a new board of school directors.
30 (e) The cost of court proceedings required pursuant to this
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1 section shall be paid by the department.
2 Section 1569. Public School Admission Preference.--(a) All
3 students attending academically at-risk school buildings in an
4 academically distressed school district, upon request of the
5 appropriate parent or guardian, shall have preference for
6 admission in any public school, including charter schools, in
7 this Commonwealth. Such preference shall extend over all other
8 applicants except residents of the school district where the
9 school is located. The State Board of Education shall promulgate
10 rules and regulations on procedures for proper implementation of
11 transfer provisions. The funds appropriated to carry out the
12 provisions of this subarticle shall be used to assist both the
13 transferor and transferee school district to make proper
14 accommodation for each transferred student, including the
15 provision of transportation services as provided in section
16 1361.
17 (b) A school district or charter school in which a student
18 enrolls pursuant to subsection (a) shall receive the amount of
19 basic education funding subsidy per pupil which would otherwise
20 have been allocated to the student's school district of
21 residence. Any cost of tuition for such student in a school
22 district or charter school that is in excess of the amount of
23 the basic education funding subsidy shall be paid by the
24 department.
25 (c) Upon termination of the academically distressed school
26 district status, any student enrolled in a school or charter
27 school pursuant to subsection (a) shall have the option to
28 return to that student's school district of residence or remain
29 in the school until completion of the last grade level in that
30 school.
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1 Section 1570. No Reduction in Funding.--It shall be unlawful
2 for the board of school directors or the secretary to reduce the
3 funding or any subsidy for any program or programs in
4 academically at-risk school buildings, targeted school
5 districts, or academically distressed school districts to offset
6 or supplant the funds provided by this subarticle, unless
7 specifically authorized by the General Assembly.
8 Section 1571. Existing Laws and Contracts in Force.--No
9 provision of law and no provision of any contract existing on
10 the effective date of this subarticle, including a collective
11 bargaining agreement negotiated pursuant to the provisions of
12 the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the "Public
13 Employe Relations Act," shall be terminated, suspended or
14 modified unless by action of the General Assembly repealing a
15 law or by action of the parties to the contract.
16 Section 1572. Reports of Waste and Wrongdoing.--(a) An
17 academic recovery plan approved pursuant to section 1564(c) or
18 revised pursuant to section 1568(b)(1)(iii) shall be a political
19 subdivision regulation for purposes of the act of December 12,
20 1986 (P.L.1559, No.169), known as the "Whistleblower Law."
21 (b) Use of any funds from the Academic Recovery Fund
22 established under section 1565 for a purpose not consistent with
23 or not in furtherance of an academic recovery plan shall be
24 considered "waste" as defined under section 2 of the
25 "Whistleblower Law."
26 (c) Failure to implement or conduct what is inconsistent
27 with an academic recovery plan shall be considered "wrongdoing"
28 as defined under section 2 of the "Whistleblower Law."
29 Section 1581. Clearinghouse on Programs and Practices.--The
30 department shall establish a clearinghouse on programs and
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1 practices. This clearinghouse shall serve to disseminate and
2 make available information on innovations, education strategies
3 and other programs resulting from the implementation of the
4 curriculum regulations of the State Board of Education. Such
5 information shall include, but not be limited to:
6 (1) Legal duties and responsibilities of school directors,
7 administrators, teachers and other staff under this act.
8 (2) Board/superintendent/administrator relationships with
9 one another, with employes and with the community.
10 (3) Policy development.
11 (4) Finance and budget procedures.
12 (5) Strategic planning.
13 (6) Student goal alternatives.
14 (7) Labor/management and personnel issues.
15 (8) Employe development.
16 (9) Child development.
17 (10) Individualized student assistance.
18 (11) Student assistance programs.
19 (12) Technology application options.
20 (13) Effective instruction.
21 (14) Scheduling options.
22 (15) Student grouping options.
23 (16) Curriculum options.
24 (17) Assessment options.
25 (18) Role of family in schools.
26 (19) Community involvement.
27 (20) School/business relations.
28 (21) Decentralized decisionmaking.
29 (22) Such other information on innovations, education
30 strategies and other programs resulting from the implementation
20000H2525B3495 - 20 -
1 of the curriculum regulations of the State Board of Education.
2 Section 2. The sum of $50,000,000, or as much thereof as may
3 be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of
4 Education to fund the Academic Recovery Fund established under
5 this act.
6 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
E3L24JAM/20000H2525B3495 - 21 -