Signed by Governor Tom Wolf

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with house amendments and pass a bill that authorizes the issuance of temporary teaching certificates.

Highlights:

• Establishes that the use of keystone exams for purposes of graduation or benchmarks must be delayed until the 2022-2023 school year (Sec. 1).

• Establishes that special provisions will be applicable to keystone exams, graduation requirements, and alternative competency assessments for the 2019-2020 school year and any subsequent school year in which the federal government has waived testing and accountability requirements (Sec. 2).

• Establishes that any student who completed a course associated with a keystone exam must not be required to take the exam and be deemed proficient in correlation with grades (Sec. 2).

• Establishes that a teacher preparation program may permit an individual enrolled at an institution of higher education or in an approved alternative program before December 31, 2021 (Sec. 3).

• Establishes that the department may issue the appropriate Special Education certificates to an applicant who completes the program and meets all other certification requirements (Sec. 3).

• Establishes that the Secretary of Education may do any of the following (Sec. 4):

• Waive the requirement to satisfactorily complete the assessment of basic skills;

• Issue a temporary provisional certificate to an educator who meets requirements and has completed a preparation program which is to expire one year after issuance;

• Issue an  exceptional case permit for a professional employee upon request of a school entity which serves as their employer;

• 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, and all other special education areas;

• Extend an emergency permit relating to criteria for eligibility;

• Waive the NIMS assessment and the NOCTI exam on a school-wide basis for specific career and technical education programs;

• Waive the requirement of inclusion of performance data in a professional employee’s performance rating and;

• Apply to the United States Department of Education for a waiver of testing and accountability requirements within elementary and secondary schools.

• Requires nonpublic schools to provide students transportation to and from school in the 2020-2021 school year if transportation was provided for the 2019-2020 school year (Sec. 4).

• Establishes that a tax credit awarded to a business firm during the 2020-2021 or 2021-2022 fiscal year that cannot be used by the firm within that year which credit was awarded may be used within the following two years (Sec. 6). 

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes the issuance of temporary teaching certificates.

Highlights:

• Authorizes the Secretary of Education to do any of the following in the 2020-2021 school year (Sec. 1):

• Waive the requirement to satisfactorily complete the assessment of basic skills;

• 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 assessment because the assessments were canceled or could not be scheduled;

• Issue an exceptional case permit for a professional employee who completed the final year of Level I Pennsylvania certificate validity in the 2019-2020 school year who was unable to complete the assessment requirements for conversion to a Level II Pennsylvania certificate because the assessments were canceled or could not be scheduled; and

• Issue a temporary certificate to an individual who is unable to complete the appropriate subject matter test because the relevant assessment has been canceled or could not be scheduled. 

• Specifies that the temporary certificates expire one year from the date of issuance and can be converted to full certificates once the outstanding assessments required for the full certificates have been completed (Sec. 1). 

• Extends the deadline by which any paraprofessional employed by a school entity as of March 13, 2020, must satisfy staff development activity hour requirements to June 30, 2021 (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text