Freeing schools from the burden of unfunded mandates

Unfunded and underfunded mandates continue to hinder school district budgets across Pennsylvania, especially in these difficult economic times. The association has been leading the fight for meaningful mandate relief, and has introduced this campaign on mandate relief that builds on the association's Focusing Resources on Educational Expenses (FREE) initiative from the previous legislative session by focusing on broad mandate relief in addition to targeting several specific issues. The FREE-plus initiative would allow school districts to be more responsive to students' individual needs and the address cost-savings measures in the communities in which they reside. The FREE-plus package includes:

The “Free” Segment: Targeting Specific Mandates

This segment includes various proposals that target permanent legislative relief in several specific areas. The bills address numerous mandates in the categories areas of: 1) Personnel Management; 2) Buildings, Construction, Operations and Transportation; and 3) School Funding.

The “Plus” Segment:  Broad Mandate Relief

This segment has been introduced as HB 1595, and it is a comprehensive proposal establishing a new and expanded waiver process that would allow school boards to suspend a wider scope of mandates. HB 1595 is in the House Education Committee.

Under HB 1595, school districts, area vocational technical schools, career and technical centers and intermediate units could adopt a resolution to suspend any mandate or combination of mandates, along with rationale that justifies how the change would improve instructional programs or allow the entity to operate in a more effective, efficient or economical manner.
Certain laws and regulations such as student safety would be excluded from suspension. The board could specify an expiration date for the suspension or allow the suspension to be indefinite, and could re-impose the mandate through a subsequent resolution. Following adoption, the school board would provide a copy of the resolution to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for review. The department would not have to formally approve the resolution but could disapprove it if it failed to meet requirements. Any resolution submitted to PDE that is not disapproved would be deemed approved.  The department would maintain on its website a register of mandates suspended by school districts.

Targeting Specific Mandates

Personnel Management

Economic Furloughs:  Proposals would allow school districts in a flexible manner to furlough staff without artificial constraints such as seniority.  Legislation introduced: HB 855is in the House Education Committee. SB 612passed the Senate in May 2011; was reported out of the House Education Committee in June 2011 and currently is tabled on the House Calendar.  As amended, SB 612 now includes rules for seniority and PSBA has withdrawn support for the bill in its current form.

Collective Bargaining – Legislation addressing collective bargaining reform would demand financial penalties from teachers participating in a strike, and require authorization of a strike no more than 72 hours in advance of a strike. School districts could retain substitute employees for the duration of a strike, thereby reducing any negative impact by a strike by the collective bargaining unit.  The proposal would also prohibit court-ordered mandatory participation in collective bargaining between a school entity and an employee organization. School districts would be permitted, however, to unilaterally implement its most recent offer if an agreement is not reached within 365 days.  Finally, the proposal would not permit dues check-off or the collection of PAC contributions for up to three years for an employee organization that participates or incites a strike.  Legislation introduced: Pending

School Nurses – This proposal would provide school districts with greater flexibility to hire individuals that are not certificated school nurses. Under current provisions, the definition of a school nurse only includes a licensed registered nurse that is certified by the Department of Education. This legislation would include those registered nurses who have completed a training program on nursing in a school environment that has been approved by the Department of Education. Legislation introduced: SB 802  was reported out of the Senate Education Committee and re-referred to Senate Appropriations Committee in April 2011.   

State Required Employee Benefits Rollback – The legislation would remove minimum levels of sick leave, bereavement leave and sabbatical leaves and permit their negotiation at the local level.  Legislation introduced: Pending

Transfer of Entities – The bill would remove current requirements for schools to employ individuals under the transfer of entities statute.  Legislation introduced: HB 1311 is in the House Education Committee.

Buildings, Construction, Operations and Transportation

Bidding – The proposals would provide increased bid limits for construction and supply
contracts. The bill increases current bid limitations to $7,000 for written or telephonic bids and to $25,000 for advertised bids.  Legislation introduced: SB 296; enacted in November as Act 97 of 2011.

Advertising Costs – The bill provides school districts with a list of options for the manner in which legal notices can be advertised, allowing districts greater flexibility for advertising venues and lower advertising costs. Legislation introduced: SB 803 was reported out of the Senate Education Committee and re-referred to Senate Appropriations Committee in April 2011.   

Separations Act-- The legislation provides options for school districts regarding construction projects by allowing them to use either separate contractors or a single prime contractor. Legislation introduced: HB 2028 was reported out of the House Education Committee in March 2012 and is currently on the House Calendar.

Emergency permitting –The bill eliminates the requirements for bids to be approved by the secretary of education in the case of an emergency where part of a school is unusable. Legislation introduced: HB1901passed the House in October 2011 and is currently in the Senate Education Committee.

Reimbursement of construction experts – The bill allows the hiring of clerk of the works or construction managers that often have construction expertise beyond the typical school administrator as a measure to control building construction costs.  Legislation introduced:  HB 244 passed the House in November 2011 and is currently in the Senate Education Committee on November 10, 2011. 

PlanCon Reimbursement – The legislation removes the requirement that PDE has to approve school construction projects that do not use state funds.  Legislation introduced: HB 257; enacted as part of Act 24 0f 2011

• Prevailing Wage – Various bills would amend the Prevailing Wage Act in a manner of ways to address the mandate for school districts to pay state-mandated prevailing wage rates for workers on every construction or renovation project in which estimates exceed $25,000, a number that has not been adjusted for 50 years. Legislation introduced: The House Labor and Industry Committee approved a package of prevailing wage bills in October 2011.  Bills affecting public schools include:

HB 1191 - Amends the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act excluding political subdivisions from the act and authorizing a political subdivision or an authority, agency or instrumentality of a political subdivision to elect, by ordinance or resolution, to place itself within the jurisdiction of this act. The bill was reported out of the committee and is currently on the House Tabled calendar.
HB 1685 -- Amends the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act stipulating that, unless otherwise authorized by statute, the secretary shall base the scope of a craft or classification of workmen on the most recent version of the Federal occupational classifications, utilizing the description of the craft or classification in the "nature of work" subsection for each rate category.  The bill was reported out of the committee and is currently on the House calendar.
HB 1329 -- Increases the amount in the contract needed to constitute "public work" to $185,000.   The bill was reported out of the committee and is currently on the House calendar.
HB 1541 - Amends the definition of "public work" to require at least 51% of the monies be public funds.  The bill was reported out of the committee and is currently on the House Tabled calendar.
HB 709 - Further provides for definitions and for school district options. The definition of the term "public body" would include any political subdivision except a school district or an authority, agency or instrumentality established by one or more school districts. The bill would also provide for school district option to be a public body. The bill was reported out of the committee and is currently on the House Tabled calendar.
Transportation – This bill clarifies that a school district does not have to provide transportation to a student living within the district boundaries but attending a nonpublic school that is located out of state, but within 10 miles of the school district's boundaries, except in the case of special schools and classes approved by PDE that provide specialized instruction to students with disabilities.  Legislation introduced: SB 869 was reported out of the Senate Education Committee and re-referred to Senate Appropriations Committee in April 2011.   

Delinquent real estate tax collection – The proposal protects a school district's right to utilize the services of entities other than the local county tax claims office for collection of delinquent real estate taxes without the need for it to pay any commission or fee to the County Tax Claim Bureau. Legislation introduced: SB 1207 is in the Senate Finance Committee; HB 1877 is in the House Finance Committee; PSBA presented testimonyin support of the bill in February 2012.

Notice of Residential Development  – This bill requires municipalities to notify school districts in which a residential development plan received final approval in the preceding month. The notice must include the location of the development, the number and types of units to be built, and the expected construction schedule. Legislation introduced: HB 823 was passed by the House in October 2011, and was amended and passed by the Senate in April 2012.  The bill is now back in the House for a concurrence vote.

School Funding

Special Education Funding –Funding for special education has not been increased in several years.  PSBA is seeking increased funding to respond to increasing special needs costs for school districts.  

Cyber Charter School Funding
PSBA supports these components of legislation to reform cyber charter school funding:

• Revise cyber charter funding formula: Specifically, legislation would authorize the Department of Education to set an annual  statewide tuition rate to be paid for by the state for cyber charter school students, distinguishing the cost differential between regular and special education, elementary and secondary school students, and full and half-day kindergarten and mandate caps on annual increases of the state tuition rate parameters. This would include limiting the tuition annual adjustments, not to exceed the lowest percentage increase for any school district or not to exceed the Act 1 index base percentage.  
• Broaden the discretion of PDE to include authority to reduce the tuition rate or refuse tuition in instances where the resident school district or intermediate unit operates a similar cyber program or class.
• Establish limits on undesignated, unreserved fund balances of cyber charter schools: For each school year, a cyber charter school's unreserved, undesignated fund balance would be limited based upon the cyber school's total budgeted expenditures for that year.  The proposal would authorize refunds of dollars from the charter schools to school districts, allowing any remainder in the first year to be paid to the resident school district. In subsequent years where the state pays the tuition directly, any remainder must be refunded to the state.
• Accountability:
• Cyber charter schools must be monitored for and assessed on:
• Specific contributions to the field through innovations that are shared with other public schools and which improve student achievement;
• Contributions to the variety of educational programs available in the public system; and
• Compliance with all laws and student achievement
• Require cyber charter schools, employees, board of trustees, educational management service providers (EMO) and charter school foundations be subject to the same accountability provisions as public school districts, including but not limited to:
• Public Official and Employee Ethics Law
• State Adverse Interest Act
• Right to Know Law
• Sunshine Act
• Legal advertising requirements
• Hold cyber charter schools accountable to similar fiscal accountability standards as school districts, requiring an independent audit of their financial statements.
• Allows school districts greater time to verify residency of student enrolling in a cyber school.

               
Reimbursement of state-mandated exemptions from property taxes – Amends the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act to provide for state reimbursement to school districts and other local taxing authorities that would otherwise lose 10% or more of their assessed value as a result of the act. Legislation introduced: HB 339 is in the House Local Government Committee.

PSBA resources to help your board send the message to legislators:

• Sample letters
     - Support of broad mandate relief
     - Support legislation allowing school districts to have options to publish legal advertisements
     - Support relief from prevailing wage requirements
• Sample resolutions
     - Support need for broad mandate relief
     - Support HB 855, economic furloughs
     - Prevailing Wage Resolution (Feb. 2012)