Legislative Report Xtras

School Code Amendments

House Bill 178 contains the omnibus amendments to the School Code, and includes these provisions: Delay in graduation requirements: Extends the delay set by Act 1 of 2016 in the implementation of the Keystone Exams as a graduation requirement for one additional year until the 2019-20 school year… More

Pension plan changes under Senate Bill 1 provide long-term reform

Current pension plans for public school and state employees will be changing under Senate Bill 1, legislation introduced and adopted in June 2017. The plan is offered as a significant step toward systemic long-term reform intended to ensure the future sustainability of the pension system… More

Charter Bill: House Bill 97, PN 1339 (Rep. Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland)

Highlights of Key Sections Section 1704-A Charter School Funding Commission: A statewide funding advisory commission is created to explore funding issues related to charter school entities and make recommendations one year from the effective date of the act… More

PSBA Special Report: Gov. Wolf’s 2017-18 State Budget Proposal

On Feb. 7, Gov. Tom Wolf delivered his state budget address to the General Assembly, outlining a different approach for addressing Pennsylvania’s $3 billion deficit. The $32.3 billion proposal is an increase of $571 million (1.8%) over the prior year. It includes over $2 billion in cuts and savings and avoids any new taxes… More

PDE to request USDE waiver of Title III requirements

PSBA Note: The PA Department of Education (PDE) announced its intention to request a waiver from the U.S Department of Education (USDE) of Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Title III relates to language instruction for Limited English Proficient/English Language Learners… More

PDE revises exit criteria for English language instructional programs

PSBA Note: The following is the memo from the PA Department of Education explaining the revised exit criteria for the state’s English Language Instructional Programs for English Language Learners (ELL) to make exit decisions for the 2015-16 school year based on 2014-15 data… More

PSBA Special Report: 2015-16 budget stalemate

Stopgap budget vetoed, schools face financial impacts On Sept. 29, 2015, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the stopgap budget bills passed by the General Assembly that would have provided about four months of support to state agencies and public schools. The emergency funding under Senate Bill 1000 (Sen. Browne, R- Lehigh), Senate Bill 1001 (Sen… More