Weekly Legislative Report

Monday, April 26, 2010

In this report…

·        Senate in Recess, House in Session

·        Zahorchak Resigns to Take Superintendent Job

·        Mandate Waiver Program Soon to Expire; Act Now

·        Property Assessment Appeals Package to be Voted

·        Policy Committee to Hold Hearing on Special Education Regulations/Costs

·        Education Committee Agenda Includes Sex Education Bill

·        Education Empowerment Legislation Passes Committee

·        CPR/AED Availability and Instruction Topic of House Hearing

Senate in Recess, House in Session

The Senate is in recess until May 3. The House convenes today at 1PM. No bills of interest are scheduled to be voted.

Last week, the House passed HB 1618 (Roebuck), sending it to the Senate for consideration. The bill requires the Department of Education to collect and report statewide dropout information, as well as create a statewide definition of “dropout.”

Zahorchak Resigns to Take Superintendent Job

The Secretary of Education, Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, appointed in 2005, will resign as Secretary effective May 7 and will assume his new duties as superintendent of the Allentown School District on July 1. Zahorchak was superintendent of the Greater Johnstown School District before Governor Edward G. Rendell named him Deputy Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education in 2003. The Governor is expected to nominate a new Secretary of Education by May 7. To read more, go to: http://www.pasbo.org/pagecontent.asp?item=651.

Mandate Waiver Program Soon to Expire; Act Now

The Mandate Waiver Program established by Act 16 of 2000 offers a sound way for school entities to reduce costs beyond their control. It has afforded public schools meaningful relief from various outdated, inflexible or cumbersome requirements in the School Code. The Program is set to expire, however, on June 30, 2010, unless reauthorized by the General Assembly. Please act now by contacting your lawmakers and asking them to support the reauthorization of the Mandate Waiver Program.

Property Assessment Appeals Package to be Voted

The House Local Government Committee is scheduled tomorrow to vote on HB 2020 (Seip), HB 2022 (Denlinger) and HB 2023 (Gergely). The bills further provide for appeals of property assessments by school districts. The bills amend the Third Class County Assessment Board Law, the Fourth to Eighth Class and Selective County Assessment Law, and the General County Assessment Law, respectively, to provide that if a school district seeks to appeal the assessment of any property, a quorum of the members elected to the board of directors of that school district must attend all proceedings regarding each appeal and be seated with their chosen representative at any appeal proceeding.

Similar legislation was vetoed by the Governor last session. Rep. Tim Seip (D-Schuylkill) explained at a March 2010 hearing that the new bills provide for a compromise, saying the new package does not prohibit an appeal from being made but instead establishes procedural steps to make the process fair for all. Opponents argue, however, that the legislation would impose a hardship on school board members and would make it difficult for school districts to correct property assessment inequities. Instead, opponents urge that the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee report due June 30, 2010, regarding the evaluation of the existing reassessment system, examination of Maryland and California’s reassessment system, and study of the impact of property tax reassessment on fixed-income seniors should be considered.

Policy Committee to Hold Hearing on Special Education Regulations/Costs

This Thursday at Spring Ford Senior High School, the House Republican Policy Committee will hear testimony from PSEA, PSBA, and other interested parties, including Linda Adams, Business Administrator at Pottstown SD, about the impact of special education costs and regulations on school districts. Copies of testimony will be made available online at http://www.pagoppolicy.com.

Education Committee Agenda Includes Sex Education Bill

The House Education Committee will hold a voting meeting this week to consider HB 1163 (Wagner). The bill would amend the School Code by adding a new section titled the “Healthy Youth Act,” requiring all school districts to provide students with comprehensive sex education. Provisions are also included regarding proper parental notification, implementation, oversight and funding.

Education Empowerment Legislation Passes Committee

Last week the Senate Education Committee reported SB 1192 (Piccola) as amended, sending it to the full Senate for consideration. The bill amends the School Code regarding education empowerment, replacing existing provisions with new language to comply with federal standards. Two amendments were adopted. The Piccola amendment inserted new language defining accountability levels and requirements of districts/schools that fail to meet performance targets. The amendment also provides for mandatory  and optional components of improvement plans. Another amendment amended the Piccola amendment by removing the ban on strikes by teachers at school districts or schools in Accountability Levels 1 and 2. Also, provisions in the Piccola amendment exempting converted failing schools to charter schools from the Prevailing Wage Act, the Steel procurement Act and the Separations Act were removed.

CPR/AED Availability and Instruction Topic of House Hearing

The House Education Committee last week held a public hearing on HB 1803 (Siptroth). The bill would require every school entity, nonpublic and private, to have at least one AED in each occupied building on school grounds. It would also require an AED and at least one school employee or emergency responder trained to use the device at school events. The Department of Education would be authorized to accept and distribute donations of AED and CPR equipment and instructions. The bill would also establish a cardiovascular screening pilot for sixth-graders that includes an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram. Testifiers included parents, coaches, doctors, a superintendent and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.