PRINTER'S NO. 331
No. 324 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY GERLACH, ARMSTRONG, SALVATORE, MOWERY AND
TOMLINSON, FEBRUARY 4, 1999
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, FEBRUARY 4, 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," providing for a pilot project;
6 authorizing students in certain school districts to attend
7 the public schools selected by their parents; providing for
8 tuition grants; creating the Office of Educational
9 Opportunity and the School Choice Exploratory Commission;
10 further providing for payments on account of transportation;
11 and making an appropriation.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
15 as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
16 article to read:
17 ARTICLE XIII-B.
18 SCHOOL CHOICE.
19 Section 1301-B. Short Title of Article.-- This article shall
20 be known and may be cited as the "Pennsylvania School Choice
21 Act."
22 Section 1302-B. Definitions.--As used in this article,
1 "Commission" shall mean the School Choice Exploratory
2 Commission.
3 "Department" shall mean the Department of Education of the
4 Commonwealth.
5 "Eligible student" shall mean a school-age resident of this
6 Commonwealth who attends or is about to attend a kindergarten or
7 an elementary or secondary school within this Commonwealth on a
8 tuition-paying basis and whose parents received taxable income,
9 as defined in section 63 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
10 (Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) or the corresponding
11 provision of any successor statute thereto, during the calendar
12 year preceding the beginning of the school year for which a
13 grant is sought under this article, which did not exceed
14 seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000). For each school year
15 thereafter during the period prescribed in subsection (b) of
16 section 1307-B, the taxable income limit shall be adjusted by
17 the commission to reflect any percentage change in the Consumer
18 Price Index calculated by the United States Department of Labor.
19 "Office" shall mean the Office of Educational Opportunity in
20 the Department of Education.
21 "Parent" shall mean a resident of this Commonwealth who is a
22 parent of an eligible student or a person standing in loco
23 parentis to an eligible student.
24 "School" shall mean any public or nonpublic elementary or
25 secondary school wherein a resident of this Commonwealth may
26 fulfill the compulsory school attendance requirements of this
27 act, and which does not discriminate on the basis of race in its
28 admissions or other educational policies. The term also includes
29 a kindergarten program operated by a school.
30 "Selected districts" shall mean districts participating under
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1 subsection (a) of section 1307-B and whose students, residing
2 therein, are eligible to participate in the pilot project
3 pursuant to this article.
4 Section 1303-B. Educational Choice.--The General Assembly
5 finds that many disadvantaged school-age residents of this
6 Commonwealth enjoy comparatively fewer educational opportunities
7 or options than other counterparts of greater economic means. In
8 addition, the General Assembly finds it appropriate to review
9 and consider the lifting of limitations and restrictions on
10 their ability to select the educational settings best suited to
11 their needs. In order to assist in equalizing educational
12 opportunities for its citizens, to better prepare its citizens
13 to compete for employment opportunities and to foster
14 development of a more capable and better-educated work force for
15 Commonwealth employers, the General Assembly hereby creates a
16 pilot project to explore the enhancement of educational choice
17 in this Commonwealth.
18 Section 1304-B. School Choice Exploratory Commission.--(a)
19 The General Assembly hereby establishes the School Choice
20 Exploratory Commission. The commission shall consist of thirteen
21 (13) members, appointed by the Governor, composed of the
22 following:
23 (1) The Secretary of Education.
24 (2) The chairman of the Education Committee of the Senate.
25 (3) The minority chairman of the Education Committee of the
26 Senate.
27 (4) The chairman of the Education Committee of the House of
28 Representatives.
29 (5) The minority chairman of the Education Committee of the
30 House of Representatives.
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1 (6) A representative of the Pennsylvania School Board
2 Association.
3 (7) A representative of the Pennsylvania State Education
4 Association.
5 (8) A representative of the Pennsylvania Catholic
6 Conference.
7 (9) A representative of the State System of Higher
8 Education.
9 (10) A representative of the Pennsylvania Association of
10 Colleges and Universities.
11 (11) A representative of the Reach Alliance.
12 (12) A representative of the Pennsylvania Parent Teachers
13 Association.
14 (13) A representative of a nonparochial private school
15 association.
16 (b) The members shall annually elect, by a majority vote of
17 the members, a chairperson and a vice chairperson of the
18 commission.
19 (c) Seven (7) members shall constitute a quorum for the
20 transaction of any business, and the act by the majority of the
21 members present at any meeting in which there is a quorum shall
22 be deemed to be the act of the commission.
23 Section 1305-B. Meetings of the Commission.--(a) All
24 meetings of the commission shall be advertised and conducted
25 pursuant to the act of July 3, 1986 (P.L.388, No.84), known as
26 the "Sunshine Act," unless otherwise provided in this section.
27 (b) The commission shall meet at least once every two (2)
28 months, and may provide for special meetings as it deems
29 necessary. Meeting dates shall be set by a majority vote of the
30 members of the commission or by the call of the chairperson upon
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1 seven (7) days' notice to all commission members.
2 (c) All meetings of the commission shall be publicly
3 advertised, as provided for in this subsection, and shall be
4 open to the public, except that the commission, through its
5 bylaws, may provide for executive sessions of the commission on
6 subjects permitted to be discussed in such sessions under the
7 Sunshine Act. No act of the commission shall be taken in an
8 executive session.
9 (d) The commission shall publish a schedule of its meetings
10 in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and in at least four (4) newspapers
11 in general circulation in this Commonwealth. The notice shall be
12 published at least once in each calendar quarter and shall list
13 the schedule of meetings of the commission to be held in the
14 subsequent calendar quarter. The notice shall specify the date,
15 time and place of the meeting and shall state that the
16 commission's meetings are open to the general public, except
17 that notice under this subsection shall not be required for
18 executive sessions of the commission.
19 (e) All action taken by the commission shall be taken in
20 open public session, and action of the commission shall not be
21 taken except upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
22 members of the commission present during meetings at which a
23 quorum is present.
24 (f) The commission shall adopt bylaws, not inconsistent with
25 this article, and may appoint such committees or elect such
26 officers as it deems advisable.
27 (g) The members of the commission shall not receive a salary
28 or per diem allowance for serving as members of the commission
29 but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses
30 incurred in the performance of their duties. Reimbursement may
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1 include travel and living expenses while engaged in commission
2 business.
3 Section 1306-B. Powers and Duties.--(a) The commission
4 shall have the power to:
5 (1) Create a pilot project authorizing students to attend
6 schools selected by their parents.
7 (2) Oversee the selection of participating school districts
8 in the pilot project.
9 (3) Monitor implementation and progress of the pilot
10 project.
11 (4) Collect and assimilate pertinent data on the feasibility
12 of a Statewide school choice program.
13 (5) Report its findings, conclusions and recommendations to
14 the Governor and General Assembly upon completion of the pilot
15 project on the feasibility of a Statewide school choice program.
16 (6) Employ an executive director, legal counsel,
17 investigators and other staff necessary to comply with the
18 provisions of this article and regulations promulgated
19 thereunder, and to engage professional consultants, as it deems
20 necessary to perform its duties.
21 (7) Fix the compensation of all employees and prescribe
22 their duties.
23 (8) Make and execute contracts and other instruments,
24 including those for purchase of services and purchase or leasing
25 of equipment and supplies, necessary or convenient to the
26 exercise of the powers of the commission.
27 (9) Conduct examinations, investigations and audits.
28 (10) Hear testimony and take proof, under oath or
29 affirmation, at public or private hearings, on any matter
30 necessary to its duties.
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1 (11) Do all things necessary to carry out its duties under
2 the provisions of this article.
3 (b) The commission may, in a manner provided by law,
4 promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out its
5 duties under this article.
6 Section 1307-B. Pilot Project.--(a) (1) The following
7 school districts shall participate in a pilot project for school
8 choice for a four-year period:
9 (i) Philadelphia.
10 (ii) Chester - Upland.
11 (iii) Aliquippa.
12 (iv) Duquesne.
13 (v) Harrisburg.
14 (vi) Reading.
15 (vii) Wilkensburg.
16 (2) The commission shall establish criteria for and select
17 such other suburban and rural school districts, not to exceed a
18 total of four, as it deems appropriate to participate in the
19 pilot project.
20 (b) The commission shall monitor the project in
21 participating school districts for a period of four (4) school
22 years and collect pertinent information and data on the
23 educational and fiscal feasibility and effectiveness of the
24 school choice pilot project. No grants, as provided in section
25 1310-B, shall be awarded following completion of the pilot
26 project, except as provided in subsection (d).
27 (c) The commission shall provide a public comment and review
28 process, based upon the experience and impact of the four-year
29 pilot project in the participating districts, formulate
30 conclusions and issue a report with recommendations to the
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1 Governor and the General Assembly by December 31 of the year
2 following completion of the project.
3 (d) Upon completion and issuance of the report to the
4 Governor and the General Assembly, the pilot project may be
5 retained or expanded only upon act of the General Assembly.
6 Section 1308-B. School Selection.--(a) In accordance with
7 and pursuant to section 1307-B, every public school student in
8 the participating school districts shall be permitted to attend
9 a public school selected by the student's parents or guardians,
10 unless:
11 (1) the school selected has no additional attendance slots
12 available and the district so notifies the department and the
13 student within time limitations to be adopted by the office; or
14 (2) the student's attendance would place either the
15 receiving school district or the selected district in violation
16 of a valid and binding desegregation order. Nothing in this
17 section shall preclude a school district from establishing
18 additional academic criteria for admission to any magnet school
19 within the district.
20 (b) No later than April 1 of each year of the pilot project,
21 the parent or parents having legal responsibility for a school-
22 age student attending or about to attend a public school shall
23 designate the public school which that student shall attend
24 during the succeeding school year, together with up to two
25 alternative choices of schools. If a designation is not timely
26 made or if the designation cannot be honored, the participating
27 district shall determine the school to which the student shall
28 be assigned within the district.
29 Section 1309-B. Office of Educational Opportunity.--There is
30 hereby established within the department the Office of
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1 Educational Opportunity, which shall administer the pilot
2 project in accordance with and pursuant to sections 1308-B and
3 1310-B. The office shall fully cooperate with and be advised by
4 the commission.
5 Section 1310-B. Grant Awards.--The office shall, for the
6 period of the pilot project, award grants to parents of eligible
7 students according to the following terms and conditions:
8 (1) Grants shall be made only for use for the payment of
9 tuition at a public or nonprofit nonpublic school within this
10 Commonwealth.
11 (2) For the first year of the pilot project, the grant shall
12 be the lesser of seven hundred dollars ($700) for children in
13 kindergarten through grade eight (8) and one thousand dollars
14 ($1,000) for children in grades nine (9) through twelve (12), or
15 an amount equal to ninety percent (90%) of the actual amount of
16 tuition paid or to be paid by the parent for a program of
17 kindergarten or basic education for an eligible student. For
18 each school year subsequent to the first year of the pilot
19 project, the maximum amount of the grant under this section
20 shall be increased by a percentage factor equal to the
21 percentage increase in the State appropriation for the equalized
22 subsidy for basic education, as defined under Article XXV.
23 (3) Prior to making any grant, the office shall require a
24 parent of each eligible student to make application for the
25 grant and to submit the verified statement of the educational
26 institution or school district which will provide the
27 educational program for which the grant is sought, attesting to
28 the enrollment by the student in the school involved and to the
29 amount of the tuition for the program.
30 (4) The office shall establish reasonable deadline dates for
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1 submission of applications for grants and shall make the grants
2 no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the beginning of the
3 school year for which the grant will be utilized.
4 (5) Grants shall be made in the form of certificates
5 delivered to the parents and shall be used solely for the
6 purpose of paying tuition at the educational institution or
7 school district designated in the grant application as the
8 school of choice.
9 (6) Within fifteen (15) days after the beginning of the
10 basic kindergarten or education program, the educational
11 institution or school district shall confirm in writing to the
12 office that the student for whom the grant has been made is in
13 attendance at the school of choice. The school or school
14 district, or the designated agent of either, may then present
15 the grant certificate to the office for redemption.
16 Section 1311-B. Subsidy Credit; Tuition; Balance.--(a) In
17 addition to the grant awarded to an eligible public school
18 student attending a public school outside his selected district,
19 an amount equal to the greater of the per pupil equalized
20 subsidy for basic education, as defined in Article XXV, in the
21 student's selected district or of the receiving district shall
22 be credited toward the tuition charged to that student by the
23 receiving district. Should the grant plus the subsidy credit
24 exceed the receiving district's tuition charge, the grant shall
25 be reduced by the amount in excess of the tuition charge. Should
26 the grant plus the subsidy credit not be sufficient to meet the
27 full amount of the receiving district's tuition charge, an
28 amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the balance of the charge
29 still remaining shall be payable by the eligible child's parents
30 and, when paid, shall be treated, along with the grant and the
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1 subsidy credit, as payment in full of the receiving district's
2 tuition charge. In the case of a child who is ineligible for a
3 grant by reason of the income limitation on eligibility, only
4 the subsidy credit authorized by this subsection shall be
5 credited toward the receiving district's tuition charge, and the
6 balance of the tuition charge shall be payable by the child's
7 parents.
8 (b) The Commonwealth shall pay to each school district which
9 accepts a nonresident student on a tuition basis an amount equal
10 to the greater of the per pupil equalized subsidy for basic
11 education, as defined in Article XXV, of the selected district
12 or of the receiving district. No student attending a public
13 school outside of the selected district shall be included in the
14 average daily membership for purposes of determining the
15 equalized subsidy for basic education in either the receiving
16 district or the selected district.
17 (c) During the period of the pilot project, the Commonwealth
18 shall also pay an additional five hundred dollars ($500) per
19 year to any participating district eligible for small district
20 assistance under section 2502.13 on account of any eligible
21 student who transfers from the participating district to a
22 nonpublic school, so long as that student continues to reside in
23 the district and continues to attend a nonpublic school.
24 Section 1312-B. Available Attendance Slots.--Each school
25 district, within a certain geographical radius of participating
26 districts as set by the office, shall determine the number of
27 available attendance slots at each of its schools and report
28 that number to the office each year by a date to be established
29 by the office. In determining the number of attendance slots
30 available each such school district shall make provision for the
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1 accommodation of any resident of the district who desires to
2 attend a public school in the district and, after making
3 provision for the attendance of resident students, shall
4 thereafter give first preference to nonresident students who
5 were in attendance in the district's schools during the school
6 year immediately preceding the school year for which the
7 availability of slots is being determined. Should any attendance
8 slots thereafter remain available, the slots shall be allocated
9 by the district on a random basis to all qualified applicants
10 who have made timely application for the attendance slots
11 pursuant to this article.
12 Section 1313-B. Regulatory Authority.--The State Board of
13 Education, upon approval of the office and the commission, shall
14 by regulation prescribe such further procedures as are needed
15 for the establishment and operation of the pilot project, for
16 subsidy credits and payments authorized in this article, and for
17 assisting school districts in developing and disseminating
18 public information concerning the choice program. Nothing in
19 this section shall be construed to empower the Commonwealth, or
20 any of its agencies or officers or subdivisions, to impose on
21 any school any additional requirements which are not otherwise
22 authorized under the laws of this Commonwealth.
23 Section 1314-B. Apportionment of Funds.--In the event that,
24 in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999, or any fiscal year
25 thereafter during the period of the pilot project, the funds
26 appropriated for purposes of the project authorized by this
27 article shall be insufficient to award grants in the total
28 amount for which applications are made, the office shall award
29 such grants in amounts which shall reflect the relative
30 proportions of eligible students and available funds.
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1 Section 1315-B. Tax Treatment.--No grant awarded under this
2 article shall be considered income to the recipient for State
3 income tax purposes.
4 Section 1316-B. Audit.--Each nonpublic school which accepts
5 students who have received educational opportunity grants shall
6 cause an annual audit of its financial records to be prepared by
7 an independent auditor in accordance with generally accepted
8 accounting procedures and shall make the audit available upon
9 request for inspection by the parents of students who attend the
10 school or who are applying for admission to the school.
11 Section 1317-B. Mandatory Enrollment.--A nonpublic school
12 may not be compelled or required to permit students enrolled in
13 the school to accept educational opportunity grants.
14 Section 2. Section 2509.3 of the act, amended April 27, 1998
15 (P.L.270, No.46), is amended to read:
16 Section 2509.3. Payments on Account of Transportation of
17 Nonpublic and Public School Pupils.--Each school district,
18 regardless of classification, shall be paid by the Commonwealth
19 the sum of thirty-five dollars ($35) for each nonpublic school
20 pupil transported in the school year 1978-1979 through the
21 school year 1983-1984. For the school year 1984-1985 through the
22 school year 1989-1990, each school district shall be paid the
23 sum of seventy dollars ($70) for each nonpublic school pupil
24 transported. For the school years 1990-1991 and 1991-1992, each
25 school district shall be paid the sum of one hundred twenty-four
26 dollars ($124) for each nonpublic school pupil transported. For
27 the school year 1992-1993 and the 1993-1994 school year, each
28 school district shall be paid the sum of one hundred fifty-nine
29 dollars ($159) for each nonpublic school pupil transported. For
30 the school year 1994-1995 through the school year 1996-1997,
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1 each school district shall be paid the sum of two hundred
2 dollars ($200) for each nonpublic school pupil transported. For
3 the school year 1997-1998 and each school year thereafter, each
4 school district shall be paid the sum of two hundred eighty-five
5 dollars ($285) for each nonpublic school pupil transported and
6 for each public school pupil transported to a public school
7 outside the district under Article XIII-B.
8 Section 3. (a) The sum of $300,000, or as much thereof as
9 may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of
10 Education to establish and operate the Office of Educational
11 Opportunity.
12 (b) The sum of $300,000, or as much thereof as may be
13 necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education
14 to establish and operate the School Choice Exploratory
15 Commission.
16 Section 4. Except for those provisions establishing the
17 School Choice Exploratory Commission and the Office of
18 Educational Opportunity and providing for the adoption of
19 regulations and other standards necessary for the administration
20 of Article XIII-B of the act which shall apply immediately,
21 Article XIII-B of the act shall apply to all school years or
22 programs commencing after August 15, 1999.
23 Section 5. In the event that a constitutional amendment is
24 not approved, authorizing private vouchers for use by students
25 in nonpublic schools, this act shall apply only to public
26 schools.
27 Section 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
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