Along with the other bills that comprise a completed state spending plan, the General Assembly sent the Governor a bill amending the Public School Code. In addition to funding basic and special education for the upcoming fiscal year, H.B. 1642 (White, R-Philadelphia):
- Provides for an industry-recognized credential attained by a student to be included on the student's transcript.
- Provides an alternative for a student to be deemed proficient for purposes of the Keystone Exam graduation requirement.
- Reconstitutes the Special Education Funding Commission in 2024.
- Establishes the Commission on Education and Economic Competitiveness.
- Extends the Plancon moratorium through the 2022-23 fiscal year.
- Provides for school mental health specialists and behavioral specialists working under the supervision on a certified school social worker.
- Provides for the certification of out-of-state applicants for career and technical education certification.
- Extends the continuing education compliance period deadline for professional educators.
- Suspends continuing professional education requirements for school or system leaders for one year.
- Establishes a structured literacy program for school-personnel.
- Allows the Department of Education to issue a comparable certification to an out-of-state applicant.
- Establishes a home education program.
- Allows a student who attended school in the 2021-22 school year to request a diploma from the school they attended or a prior school or request a Keystone Diploma retroactive to the 2021-22 school year.
- Raises the threshold amount for a student to be eligible for the nonprofit school food program.
- Compiles information in order to issue a report on expenditures relating to exceptional students.
- Extends the age for special education students to enroll due to COVID-19.
- Establishes the terms for the School Safety and Security Committee.
- Requires a survey of school mental health services.
- Appropriates funds from the School Safety and Security Fund.
- Ensures a school has appointed a school safety and security coordinator.
- Provides school safety and security training.
- Provides for school safety and security grants.
- Provides for school mental health grants.
- Provides for a school-based mental health internship grant program.
- Changes the Drug and Alcohol Recovery High School Pilot Program to a permanent program.
- Requires high schools to enter into an agreement with an institution of higher education to allow students to attend the institution while they are enrolled in high school.
- Establishes a Committee on Education Talent Recruitment.
- Establishes an educational and professional development online course initiative.
- Abolishes the Wolf Administration's charter school regulations.
- Establishes a disability inclusive curriculum.
- Establishes a cosmetology and barber training through career and technical center pilot program.
- Provides for a community college funding formula.
- Requires the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to issue a report on the Rural Regional Community College.
- Provides for the Councils of Trustees of the State System of Higher Education universities.
- Makes changes to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC), including increasing the total amount of tax credits available.
- Allows for a Cambridge advanced exam to count towards credit for prior learning for college-level credits.
- Provides for sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking education prevention and response at institutions of higher education.
- Requires the Public Higher Education Funding Commission to develop a performance-based funding model by June 2023.
- Prohibits scholarship displacement at public institutions of higher education.
- Increases the maximum household income for the Ready to Succeed Scholarship Program.
- Provides funding for libraries.
- Provides for the distribution of career and technical education funding.
- Provides for the distribution of basic education funding.
- Provides for the distribution of Level-Up funding for low performing schools.
- Provides for the distribution of funding for intermediate units.
- Provides for the distribution of funding for special education.
- Provides assistance to school districts in financial recovery or financial watch status.
- Provides for Ready-to-Learn Block Grant funding.
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