Section 15-1501.8 - Pandemic of 2020.(a) 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.(b) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the following shall apply:(1) The requirement under section 1501 requiring all school entities to be kept open each school year for at least one hundred eighty (180) instructional days is waived immediately.(2) The secretary may do any or all of the following:(i) Order the closure of all school entities until the threat to health and safety caused by the pandemic of 2020 has ended.(ii) Increase the number of flexible instructional days that school entities may institute under section 1506 to a number of flexible instructional days determined by the secretary during the 2019-2020 school year and waive the application deadline under section 1506(c)(1).(iii) Waive the minimum total number of hours required for a career and technical education program under 22 Pa. Code § 339.22(9)(i) (relating to program content).(iv) 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.(v) Waive the minimum number of days of prekindergarten instruction required under 22 Pa. Code § 405.41 (relating to school term).(vi) Waive the twelve-week student teacher requirement under 22 Pa. Code § 354.25(f) (relating to preparation program curriculum) for educator preparation programs that are unable to meet the regulatory requirement due to the pandemic of 2020.(vii) Waive the NIMS assessment and the NOCTI exam.(c) Notwithstanding the provisions under subsection (b), the following shall apply:(1) No employe of any school entity who was employed as of March 13, 2020, shall receive more or less compensation than the employe would otherwise have been entitled to receive from the school entity had the pandemic of 2020 not occurred, had the minimum instructional day requirement not been waived under subsection (b)(1) or had the secretary not taken action under subsection (b)(2).(2) No employe of any school entity who was employed as of March 13, 2020, shall receive more or less credit or contribute more or less than the employe would otherwise have contributed pursuant to the Public School Employees' Retirement Code under 24 Pa.C.S. Pt. IV (relating to retirement for school employees) had the pandemic of 2020 not occurred, had the minimum instructional day requirement not been waived under subsection (b)(1) or had the secretary not taken action under subsection (b)(2).(3) Each school entity shall provide any employe who is responsible for cleaning school facilities as a result of, or during the threat to health and safety caused by, the pandemic of 2020, with appropriate cleaning materials and protective clothing and gear as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.(4) Each school entity shall provide written notice to the parent or guardian of each student who receives services under an Individualized Education Program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 91-230, 20 U.S.C §1400 et seq.) (IDEA) of the school entity's plans for ensuring the student receives a free and appropriate public education as required under IDEA.(5) Each school entity shall make a good faith effort to plan to offer continuity of education to students using alternative means during the period of closure. The Department of Education shall provide guidance to school entities and intermediate units may provide technical assistance. A school entity shall submit the plan to the Department of Education. The school entity shall post the plan on its publicly accessible internet website.(d) A school entity which was closed as a result of the pandemic of 2020 may not receive less subsidy payments, reimbursements, allocations, tuition or other payments from the Department of Education or another school entity than the school entity would otherwise be entitled to receive for the school year 2019-2020 had the pandemic of 2020 not occurred, had the minimum instructional day requirement not been waived under subsection (b)(1) or had the secretary not taken action under subsection (b)(2). For the time period a charter school, regional charter school or cyber charter school is closed due to the 2020 pandemic, the charter school, regional charter school or cyber charter school shall receive tuition payments based upon the enrollment as of March 13, 2020.(e) The secretary shall 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), to allow the cancellation of testing for the 2019-2020 school year.(f) The governing body of a school entity may apply to the secretary for a waiver, in the form and manner prescribed by the secretary, of any provision of this act, the regulation of the State Board of Education or the standards of the Department of Education, excluding sections 528, 1124 and 1125.1, if the waiver is directly related to the school entity's staffing needs or impacts the school entity's instructional program or operations as a result of the pandemic of 2020. The secretary shall have 30 days from the receipt of the application to approve or disapprove the request. the secretary's determination related to a waiver request under this subsection shall not be appealable under 2 pa.c.s. (relating to administrative law and procedure).(g) Beginning on the effective date of this subsection and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each professional educator 's current continuing professional education compliance period under section 1205.2 or 1205.5 shall be extended by one year. This subsection shall apply only to professional educators with an active certification as of the effective date of this subsection and shall expire one year from the effective date of this subsection.(h) Any waiver of Federal requirements sought as a result of the pandemic of 2020 shall not be subject to the requirements of section 126.(i) The following shall apply to nonpublic schools for the 2019-2020 school year:(1) The governing body of a nonpublic school may close the nonpublic school due to the threat to health and safety caused by the pandemic of 2020.(2) The minimum instructional time requirements of section 1327.1(b) shall not apply.(j) The following shall apply: (1) The minimum instructional time requirements of section 1327.1 shall not apply.(2) The requirements to administer a nationally normed standardized achievement test or statewide test under section 1327.1(e)(1) and conduct the annual evaluations under section 1327.1(e)(2) and (h.1) shall not apply.(k) A private or nonpublic school which was closed because of the 2020 pandemic may not receive more or less payment from school entities for any student placed by a school entity and enrolled as of March 13, 2020, as long as the private or nonpublic school is offering continuity of education during the period of closure.(l) The following shall apply: (1) Each school entity may renegotiate a contract for school bus transportation services to ensure contracted personnel and fixed costs, including administrative and equipment, are maintained during the period of school closure. During the period of school closure, the school bus transportation contractor shall submit weekly documentation to the school entity that its complement levels remain at or above the level on March 13, 2020, in order to continue being paid.(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, if a school entity continues to pay a school bus transportation contractor or operates its own school bus transportation, the school entity shall be eligible for reimbursement from the Department of Education at a rate the school entity would have received had the pandemic of 2020 not occurred, had the minimum instruction days requirement not been waived under subsection (b)(1) or had the secretary not taken action under subsection (b)(2).(m) A private residential rehabilitative institution that was closed because of the 2020 pandemic may not receive less payment from school entities or the Commonwealth for any student enrolled as of March 13, 2020.(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.(n) 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: "NIMS assessment." An assessment based on the National Institute for Metalworking Skills Standards.
"NOCTI exam." A National Occupational Competency Testing Institute exam.
"School entity." any school district, intermediate unit, area career and technical school, charter school, cyber charter school or regional charter school a child attends in order to fulfill the compulsory attendance requirements of this act.
Amended by P.L. TBD 2020 No. 136, § 5, eff. 11/25/2020.Added by P.L. TBD 2020 No. 13, § 4, eff. 3/27/2020.