2020 Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Act 136 - PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE OF 1949 - OMNIBUS AMENDMENTS
Session of 2020
No. 2020-136
SB 1216
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An act relating to the public school system, including certain provisions applicable as well to private and parochial schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the laws relating thereto," in preliminary provisions, further providing for Keystone Exams and graduation requirements, for special provisions applicable to the Keystone Exams, graduation requirements and alternative competency assessment and for Special Education Funding Commission; in certification of teachers, further providing for instructional certificate grade spans and age levels and duties of department and providing for special provisions applicable to 2020-2021 school year; in pupils and attendance, providing for nonpublic school transportation for 2020-2021 school year; in terms and courses of study, further providing for pandemic of 2020; and, in educational tax credits, further providing for limitations.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 121(b)(1) of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended to read:
Section 121. Keystone Exams and Graduation Requirements.--* * *
(b) The following shall apply:
(1) Notwithstanding section 2604-B(b)(2)(v), 22 Pa. Code § 4.24 (relating to high school graduation requirements), 4.51 (relating to State assessment system) or 4.51c (relating to project-based assessment) or any statute or regulation to the contrary, the use of the Keystone Exams as a graduation requirement or as a benchmark for the need for participation in a project-based assessment shall be delayed until the [2021-2022] 2022-2023 school year.
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Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 121.1. Special Provisions Applicable to the Keystone Exams, Graduation Requirements and Alternative Competency Assessment.--For the 2019-2020 school year and any subsequent school year in which the Federal Government has waived the testing and accountability requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95, 129 Stat. 1802), any student who completed a course in an academic content area associated with a Keystone Exam shall not be required to take the Keystone Exam related to that course and shall be deemed proficient for purposes of sections 121 and 2604-B(b)(2)(v) and 22 Pa. Code § 4.24 (relating to high school graduation requirements), provided that the student demonstrates successful completion of locally established, grade-based requirements for the academic content areas associated with each Keystone Exam.
Section 2.1. Section 122(k)(2) of the act, amended June 5, 2020 (P.L.223, No.30), is amended to read:
Section 122. Special Education Funding Commission.--* * *
(k) * * *
(2) The commission shall be reconstituted not later than August 15, 2019, and shall issue the report to the recipients listed in subsection (i)(5) not later than [September 30, 2020] June 30, 2021. The commission shall limit the scope of the review provided for under this subsection to only the provision of special education payments to school districts by the Commonwealth through the funding formula contained in section 2509.5.
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Section 3. Section 1202.1(a) of the act is amended by adding a paragraph to read:
Section 1202.1. Instructional Certificate Grade Spans and Age Levels and Duties of Department.--(a) The following shall apply to special education certificates:
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(1.1) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a teacher preparation program may permit an individual enrolled at an institution of higher education or in an approved alternative preparation program prior to December 31, 2021, and who remains continuously enrolled to complete the program for the grade level limitations provided under 22 Pa. Code § 49.85(a) and (b). The department may issue the appropriate Special Education-PK-8 or Special Education-7-12 certificates to an applicant who completes the program and meets all other certification requirements.
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Section 4. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
Section 1207.4. Special Provisions Applicable to 2020-2021 School Year.--(a) Beginning on the effective date of this subsection and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Secretary of Education may do any or all of the following:
(1) Waive the requirement to satisfactorily complete the assessment of basic skills required under section 1207.3 and 22 Pa. Code § 49.18(c) (relating to assessment) during the 2020-2021 school year. This paragraph shall expire June 30, 2021.
(2) Issue a temporary provisional certificate to an educator who has completed a preparation program and meets all requirements for certification except the satisfactory completion of the assessments required pursuant to 22 Pa. Code § 49.18(c) because the assessments were canceled or could not be scheduled. A temporary provisional certificate issued under this paragraph shall expire after one year of issuance and may be converted to a Level I Pennsylvania certificate upon submission of evidence of satisfactory completion of the required assessments to the Department of Education. This paragraph shall expire on June 30, 2021.
(3) Issue an exceptional case permit for a professional employe at the request of a school entity that employs the professional employe who completed the final year of Level I Pennsylvania certificate validity in the 2019-2020 school year and who was unable to complete the assessment requirements for conversion to a Level II Pennsylvania certificate under 22 Pa. Code § 49.18(a)(2)(iii) because the assessments were canceled or could not be scheduled. The exceptional case permit shall expire one year from the date of issuance. This paragraph shall expire June 30, 2021.
(4) Issue a temporary certificate to an individual who is unable to complete the appropriate subject matter test for areas other than health and physical education, cooperative education, all special education areas and additional areas as may be determined by the Department of Education under 22 Pa. Code § 49.18(e) when the Department of Education determines that the relevant assessment has been canceled or could not be scheduled. An individual who provides evidence as required by the Department of Education indicating that the individual attempted to access testing and was denied registration may be eligible for issuance of a temporary certificate under this paragraph. The temporary certificate shall expire one year from the date of issuance and may be converted to a full instructional certificate by providing proof of satisfactory achievement on the required test to the Department of Education. This paragraph shall expire June 30, 2021.
(5) Extend an emergency permit issued under 22 Pa. Code § 49.31 (relating to criteria for eligibility) during the 2020-2021 school year at the request of a school entity that employs an emergency permit holder when an employe is unable to complete the requirements associated with the permit because the program credits or assessment could not be completed or scheduled. The extended emergency permit shall expire one year from the date of extension. This paragraph shall expire June 30, 2021.
(6) The following provisions relating to testing shall apply:
(i) The Secretary of Education may waive the NIMS assessment and the NOCTI exam on a school-wide basis or for a specific career and technical education program provided by a school entity based on the recommendations of directors of career and technical education programs under 22 Pa. Code Ch. 339 (relating to vocational education). The recommendations shall account for the length of time a career and technical center was open for in-person student instruction and the subject matter of the program affected.
(ii) The Secretary of Education shall waive the requirement to include performance data otherwise required under section 1123(b)(1)(ii) in a professional employe's performance rating under section 1123.
(b) Beginning on the effective date of this subsection and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the deadline by which any paraprofessional employed by a school entity as of March 13, 2020, must satisfy staff development activity hour requirements under 22 Pa. Code § 14.105 (relating to personnel) shall be extended until June 30, 2021. This subsection shall expire one year from the effective date of this subsection.
(c) The Secretary of Education may apply to the United States Department of Education for a waiver of the testing and accountability requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95, 129 stat. 1802), if the United States Department of Education provides an opportunity to apply for such a waiver for the 2020-2021 school year. This paragraph may not be construed to include the power of the Secretary of Education to seek a waiver for future school years without legislative approval.
Section 1361.1. Nonpublic School Transportation for 2020-2021 School Year.--(a) As it relates to the provision of transportation for nonpublic schools for the 2020-2021 school year, if transportation was provided during the 2019-2020 school year for pupils of nonpublic schools under section 1361(1), the board of school directors shall provide pupils of nonpublic school transportation on the dates and periods that the nonpublic school is in session according to the school calendar officially adopted by the nonpublic school whether or not transportation is provided on those dates and periods to students attending schools of the district.
(b) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"COVID-19 disaster emergency." The proclamation of disaster emergency issued by the Governor on March 6, 2020, published at 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March 21, 2020), and any renewal of the proclamation of disaster emergency.
Section 5. Section 1501.8(a) of the act, added March 27, 2020 (P.L.62, No.13), is amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 1501.8. Pandemic of 2020.--(a) [This] Except as provided in subsection (m.1), this section applies only to the 2019-2020 school year as a result of the global pandemic declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020.
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(m.1) Notwithstanding subsection (a):
(1) The following apply to the 2020-2021 school year as a result of the COVID-19 disaster emergency:
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of this act, a school entity shall receive a pupil transportation subsidy payment equal to the greater of the amount calculated for reimbursement or the amount allocated to the school entity for the prior school year.
(ii) To receive a pupil transportation subsidy payment equal to the amount allocated to the school entity for the prior school year, a school entity that contracts for school bus transportation services shall pay the school bus transportation contractor for the school year in an amount that the school bus transportation contractor would have received from the school entity had school bus transportation services not been so affected by the COVID-19 disaster emergency minus the amount of any variable costs provided the school bus transportation contractor certifies the variable costs to the school district.
(iii) The Department of Education shall develop and publish guidelines on variable costs in consultation with the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania School Bus Association within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this paragraph.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "variable costs" means the difference between costs for labor, fuel, tolls, maintenance and other expenses as determined by the department during normal operations of school bus transportation and those same costs during the COVID-19 disaster emergency.
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Section 6. Section 2006-B(d) of the act is amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 2006-B. Limitations.
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(d) Use.--[A] Subject to subsection (d.1), a tax credit not used by the applicant in the taxable year the contribution was made or in the year designated by the shareholder, member or partner to whom the credit was transferred under section 2005-B(e) may not be carried forward or carried back and is not refundable or transferable.
(d.1) Pandemic relief.--
(1) A tax credit awarded to a business firm during the 2020-2021 or 2021-2022 fiscal year that cannot be used by the business firm during the fiscal year in which awarded may be carried forward and used during the two taxable years following the taxable year in which the tax credit was awarded.
(2) Tax credits that are carried forward under this subsection shall not diminish the total amount of tax credits that may otherwise be awarded to a business firm under section 2005-B or that may be awarded to all business firms in the aggregate under subsection (a).
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Section 7. This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) The amendment of section 1202.1(a) of the act shall take effect in 60 days.
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect immediately.
APPROVED--The 25th day of November, A.D. 2020.
TOM WOLF
