The House Education Committee approved HB 930, which makes extensive changes to the Professional Educator Discipline Act. Among the changes, HB 930: expands the jurisdiction of the Professional Standards and Practices Commission to include educators holding Private Academic School certification and educators working for independent contractors in public schools; expands the bases for discipline to include founded and indicated reports of child abuse as well as “grooming” behaviors such as sending a student sexually explicit text messages; shortens the time period for mandatory reporting to Pennsylvania Department of Education; requires an educator arrested or indicted for or convicted of certain enumerated crimes to report the indictment, arrest or conviction to the employing school entity within 72 hours; prohibits school entities from entering into confidential settlement agreements that interfere with a school entity’s mandatory reporting; and eliminates the current statute of limitations for the filing of misconduct complaints.

The Senate Education Committee approved SB 442, which exempts school leaders from continuing education requirements if their school or district makes Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) or shows growth under the Pennsylvania Value Added Assessment System (PVAAS) for three consecutive years. The bill was amended to clarify that the exemption from continuing education applies to school and system leaders for the schools that they oversee. If one of those schools fails to make AYP or show growth under PVAAS, the school and system leaders would lose the exemption. At that time, they would be responsible for completing the continuing education requirements within the remaining duration of the uncompleted compliance period. The amendment also addresses school and system leaders that change school assignments. If school or system leaders are exempt in the new assignment, the new school and system leader will also be exempt. If they are assigned to a school where the school and system leaders are not exempt, their exemption would be lost and they must complete the continuing education. Nothing in the bill limits the ability for a school district to require continuing education even if the school or system leader would otherwise be exempt.

Source: PSBA Legislative Report, March 21, 2013.