HB 1352 Omnibus School Code Bill

Passed the Senate Education Committee on June 27.

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949,

  • in preliminary provisions, further providing for background checks of prospective employees and conviction of employees of certain offenses;
  • providing for collection of identifying information of students attending institutions of higher education, for moratorium on certain data collection systems and data sets and for certified safety committees;
  • in school finances, providing for reopening of 2011-2012 budget;
  • in grounds and buildings, providing for acquisition of buildings, sites for school buildings and playgrounds and disposing thereof;
  • further providing for approval by department of plans of buildings and exceptions and for approval of lease agreements;
  • in intermediate units, further providing for subsidies for services and for financial reports;
  • in district and assistant superintendents, further providing for purpose and for eligibility;
  • in professional employees, providing for professional and temporary professional employees of schools formerly operated by the Commonwealth;
  • in certification of teachers, further providing for certificates qualifying persons to teach, for kinds of State certificates, for continuing professional development, for program of continuing professional education, for continuing professional education for school or system leaders and for certificates issued by other states;
  • providing for postbaccalaureate certification;
  • in pupils and attendance, further providing for admission of beginners, for cost of tuition and maintenance of certain exceptional children in approved institutions;
  • in safe schools, further providing for reporting, for safe schools advocate in school districts of the first class, for standing and for enforcement;
  • in interscholastic athletics accountability, further providing for council recommendations and standards;
  • in opportunities for educational excellence, further providing for definitions, for responsibilities of school entities, for concurrent enrollment committees, for concurrent enrollment agreements and for enrollment in concurrent courses;
  • in charter schools, further providing for school staff;
  • in community colleges, further providing for financial program and reimbursement of payments;
  • in transfers of credits between institutions of higher education, further providing for duties of public institutions of higher education;
  • providing for participation by State-related institutions;
  • in funding for public libraries, providing for State aid for 2011-2012;
  • in reimbursements by Commonwealth and between school districts, further providing for definitions, for basic education funding for student achievement and for accountability to Commonwealth taxpayers;
  • providing for basic education funding for 2010-2011 school year; and further providing for payments to intermediate units, for special education payments to school districts, for payments on account of homebound children, for payments on account of pupil transportation and for Pennsylvania Accountability Grants

House Education Committee6/28/11, 9:00 a.m., Room B31 Main CapitolBy Matt Hess

The committee met to consider bills.

SB 200 Browne - (PN 1403) The Safety in Youth Sports Act provides definitions and requires the Department of Education to place educational materials on its website about traumatic brain injuries in youth sports. The department is to utilize information provided by the Centers of Disease Control. Prior to participation in school youth sports, the student and parent must sign and return to the school a form stating they have reviewed the educational materials. The school may hold an informational meeting on traumatic brain injuries and a child that suffers a traumatic brain injury shall be removed from play by the coach at that time and the student may not return to play until cleared by an approved medical professional. Coaches must take an educational course in traumatic brain injuries. Penalties are provided. (Prior Printer Number: 333, 441, 1332) - The bill was unanimously reported as committed. SB 200 Browne (R)

(PN 1403) The Safety in Youth Sports Act provides definitions and requires the Department of Education to place educational materials on its website about traumatic brain injuries in youth sports. The department is to utilize information provided by the Centers of Disease Control. Prior to participation in school youth sports, the student and parent must sign and return to the school a form stating they have reviewed the educational materials. The school may hold an informational meeting on traumatic brain injuries and a child that suffers a traumatic brain injury shall be removed from play by the coach at that time and the student may not return to play until cleared by an approved medical professional. Coaches must take an educational course in traumatic brain injuries. Penalties are provided. (Prior Printer Number: 333, 441, 1332)

Jun 28, 2011 - H-Reported as committed from House Education

SB 389 Brubaker - (PN 1200) Amends the Public School Code, in vocational education, redefining “vocational agricultural education” as that form of vocational education which develops student potential for success in entering and advancing through careers in the food, agriculture and natural resources sciences, such as production agriculture, animal science, agribusiness management and marketing, agricultural research, energy systems, agricultural mechanics and engineering, biotechnology, food science, processing and retailing, banking, agricultural education, forestry, horticulture, landscape contracting, nursery and floriculture production, retail garden center management, leadership and career development, management, economics and marketing, natural resource management, plant and soil science, power and systems technology, rural-urban interfacing and other related fields. (Prior Printer Number: 374) - The bill was unanimously reported as committed from House Education.

Senate Appropriations Committee06/28/11, 12:15 p.m., Room 256, Main CapitolBy Jason Gottesman

The committee met to consider bills.

HB 1352 Stephens - (PN 1712) Amends Public School Code to disallow the hiring of a teacher within five years of conviction for a violation of Title 18, Section 3124.2 (relating to institutional sexual assault). (Prior Printer

HB 1352 Stephens (R)

(PN 2227) Amends Public School Code to disallow the hiring of a teacher within five years of conviction for a violation of Title 18, Section 3124.2 (relating to institutional sexual assault); amends section 111 regarding background checks for prospective school employees and reporting for current employees; strengthens the bans against employment for certain offenses; imposes limitations on the collection of identifying information attending institutions of higher education through the Pennsylvania Information Data System; repeals section 2502.49 requiring that increases in basic education funding be used to initiate new programs or expand existing programs; increases flexibility in superintendent eligibility requirements; eliminates certain administrative requirements of the concurrent enrollment program; exempts school districts from obtaining department approval of construction projects, plans and specifications and leases where Commonwealth reimbursement is not requested; requires intermediate units to report to the department on subsidies and funds received and on contracts greater than $50,000 between the intermediate unit and a Commonwealth agency or between intermediate units and requires the department to post the reports on its website along with the intermediate units’ annual financial reports; reestablishes the Safe Schools Advocate in the Philadelphia school district and moves the office to the jurisdiction of the Commission on Crime & Delinquency; imposes a two-year moratorium on continuing professional development requirements for school districts and professional educators; requires the Legislative Budget & Finance Committee to conduct a study of the costs and benefits of the continuing professional development requirements; imposes a two-year moratorium on collection of data through the PIMS for K-12 and PELICAN system except in certain enumerated circumstances; requires a report by the department and DPW to the Senate and House Education Committees, the House Children and Youth Committee and the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee; requires school districts to have or maintain a certified safety committee; establishes employment pools for former professional employees of schools previously operated by the Commonwealth; requires that public institutions of higher education agree to accept holders of associate degrees from community colleges into parallel baccalaureate degree programs; requires that State-related institutions identify credits they will accept for transfer; adds budget related language; creates alternate pathways for second-career professionals to become teachers and administrators; and makes service technical corrections and clarifications. (Prior Printer Number: 1581 1712)

Jun 28, 2011 - S-Reported as committed from Senate Appropriations

Jun 28, 2011 - S-Third consideration

Jun 28, 2011 - S-Final Passage by a vote of 33 YEAS 17 NAYS

HB 1485 Adolph (R)

(PN 1880) The General Appropriation Act of 2011 provides from the General Fund for the expenses of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Departments of the Commonwealth, the public debt and the public schools for the fiscal year July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, for certain institutions and organizations, and for the payment of bills incurred and remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011; to provide appropriations from the State Lottery Fund, the Energy Conservation and Assistance Fund, the Aviation Restricted Revenue Account, the Hazardous Material Response Fund, The State Stores Fund, the Milk Marketing Fund, the Home Investment Trust Fund, the Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund, the Tuition Payment Fund, the Banking Department Fund, the Firearm Records Check Fund, the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority Fund and the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to the Executive Department; to provide appropriations from the Judicial Computer System Augmentation Account to the Judicial Department for the fiscal year July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012; to provide appropriations from the Motor License Fund for the fiscal year July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, for the proper operation of the several departments of the Commonwealth and the Pennsylvania State Police authorized to spend Motor License Fund moneys; to provide for the appropriation of Federal funds to the Executive Department of the Commonwealth and for the payment of bills remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011; and to provide for the additional appropriation of Federal and State funds from the General Fund for the Executive Department of the Commonwealth for the fiscal year July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, and for the payment of bills incurred and remaining unpaid at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. (Prior Printer Number: 1814)

Jun 28, 2011 - S-Over Temporarily

Jun 28, 2011 - S-Third consideration

Jun 28, 2011 - S-Final Passage by a vote of 30 YEAS 20 NAYS

Capitolwire: House approves university funding bills. Senate expects to follow suit, send them to Corbett.

By Chris Comisac
Deputy Bureau Chief
Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (June 28) - A day after House Democrats rejected bills appropriating funding to state-related universities, those same Democrats joined with their Republican colleagues to overwhelmingly approve all the bills.

Senate Democrats, who also voted against similar university funding bills Monday, indicated they would provide the necessary votes to send the bills to the governor.

Both Democratic caucuses said they held up the bills to ensure they could see and review various budget and budget-related bills. House Democrats also said they wanted to re-open bills and restore more funding. That re-opening did not occur, but the vast majority of House Democrats still voted for the bills.

Each of the nonpreferred bills, other than the Lincoln University appropriation, received 178 “yes” votes, more than enough to meet the constitutionally-required two-thirds vote - which works out to 134 votes – for such appropriations bills.

The appropriations for Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University passed on similar 178-20 votes, while the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary College funding bill received a 178-21 vote.

The votes were a reversal from Monday when House Democratic leaders made good on their promise to have their caucus oppose the bills, which propose $545 million for five state universities, because they cut the funding of the institutions by 19 percent from current levels.

Legislative Democrats on Monday also said they had been cut out of budget negotiations and couldn’t vote on the university appropriations without knowing the status of the budget and how the universities’ funding would impact it.

Democrats Monday voted down state funding for the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pennsylvania Veterinary College and Temple University. Temple's funding failed to get the required vote, 132-65, while Pitt failed 125-73.

The 19 percent cuts were apparently not enough to scuttle the funding bill for Lincoln University. The Monday vote on that appropriations bill narrowly exceeded the constitutionally-required vote, 136-62.

However, that Monday vote was reconsidered by the chamber on Tuesday, and the bill was approved on a 187-11 vote.

The bills now head to the Senate, which on Monday, in comparable fashion to the House’s actions, voted down similar university funding bills.

The chamber’s 30-20 party-line votes for each institution’s funding came up short of the required two-thirds majority vote – 34 votes - for non-preferred appropriations bills.

During Monday evening’s debate, both Senate leaders, Jake Corman, R-Centre, and Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, agreed to apply the members’ same remarks and votes to each bill after a debate on the first funding bill for Temple University

$350 million added to current budget, but no gimmicks, says Zogby. Democrats disagree.

House Democrats say GOP budget deal hides $301 million in welfare cuts, payments moved off-budget or to the following year, to artificially lower this year's spending cap.

By Peter L. DeCoursey
Bureau Chief
Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (June 28) - Pennsylvania Budget Secretary Charles Zogby said $350 million will be added to this year's budget for welfare spending and education block grants, and not included in the $27.149 billion 2011-2012 state budget.

That budget, which was estimated at $28.05 billion last July, then was reduced during the year, will end up at $28.3 billion, but raising that spend to keep this year's amount at $27.149 billion "is not a gimmick," Zogby said.

Instead, he asserted that $250 million in welfare bills will and should be paid as part of this year's budget, and Senate and House GOP budget negotiators agreed.

Zogby spoke after the governor signed a lawsuit damages proportional limits bill.

He also addressed moving $100 million for this coming year's Accountability Block Grant expenditure into last year's budget.

Zogby said that was done because "there was a concern about adding spending beyond what the governor proposed," the $27.149 billion spending cap.

Zogby also confirmed that the House and Senate are each putting up $25 million from their reserve accounts and Corbett is matching that with $50 million from the state surplus, to fund the block grants.

Zogby confirmed the funds would be spent in the upcoming school year although they would be in the 2010-2011.

He was asked why moving newly appropriated funds to be spent in 2011-2012 into the 2010-2011 budget, was not a "budget gimmick" to make this year's spending cap look lower than actual expenditures. He said it was because there is "no presumption" that block grants "come back in 12-13," so as a one-time expenditure, they belong in 2010-2011, with the funds used for the program.

While GOP legislative leaders said they did not agree to not fund that program in 2012-2013 and beyond, Zogby said that funding decision had yet to be made by the governor, then negotiated.

Using one-time surplus funding for a one-time program, Zogby said, "I think that is fundamentally different than the over $1.3 billion in gimmicks that were used in the past budget, to basically make [it] balance."

House Minority Appropriations Committee Chairman Joe Markosek, D-Allegheny, released a minority panel report, "Games the GOP Plays," saying the budget deal hid another $301 million in spending above the governor's budget cap.

In addition to the items listed above, Markosek said $77 mmilion in nursing home payments one week's worth - were pushed forward to the 2012-2013 budget year and $76 million in long-term costs were shifted to the Tobacco Settlement and Lottery funds. Markosek also predicted the planned welfare cuts in the deal would come up $148 million short, hiding that sum for now, but requiring it to be paid later.

GOP budget negotiators responded that they expect to find the welfare cuts and that the other changes were matters of policy.

Markosek's report said: "Republicans tout the plan as restoring some of the draconian cuts proposed by Gov. Corbett while keeping an expenditure level lower than previous years. Do not be deceived. The Republican budget concocts this "spend number" by moving expenditures off©\line to other funds (and even other fiscal years) ¨C the same "smoke and mirrors" criticized during previous budgets."