Pennsylvania HB 778: An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in professional employees, providing for Pre-K Teacher Salary Supplement Pilot Program.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 799
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 778
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY SHUSTERMAN, HARKINS, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, INGLIS,
PROBST, HILL-EVANS, CERRATO, HANBIDGE, KAZEEM, BOROWSKI,
PIELLI, KHAN, SANCHEZ, DONAHUE, SCHLOSSBERG, D. WILLIAMS,
CIRESI, GREEN, DEASY, MAYES, FLEMING, HOHENSTEIN, KENYATTA,
GIRAL, RIVERA, MADDEN, GUENST AND ISAACSON, MARCH 3, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 3, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in professional employees, providing
for Pre-K Teacher Salary Supplement Pilot Program.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 1156. Pre-K Teacher Salary Supplement Pilot
Program.--(a) The Pre-K Teacher Salary Supplement Pilot Program
is established within the department to provide a supplement to
bring pre-kindergarten teachers' salaries in line with
elementary school teachers' salaries for comparable skills.
(b) The pilot program shall operate for three school years
beginning with the first school year after the effective date of
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this subsection in accordance with the following:
(1) No later than ninety (90) days after the effective date
of this paragraph, the department shall establish guidelines and
procedures for the implementation of this section.
(2) The department shall select eligible pre-kindergarten
programs using the following criteria:
(i) An eligible pre-kindergarten program that is a school
district shall have a poverty rate of at least twenty per centum
(20%).
(ii) An eligible pre-kindergarten program not operated by a
school district must be in a census tract with a median poverty
level of eighty per centum (80%) or less of the Statewide
median.
(3) The department shall compare the salary and
qualifications of the individual teachers in both the eligible
pre-kindergarten program and the teachers for the kindergarten,
first grade, second grade, third grade and fourth grade classes
at the public school that serves the district in which the pre-
kindergarten program is based.
(4) The department shall use a formula to calculate what the
teachers' salaries would be if they were teaching in the
district with the experience and credentials that the teacher
currently holds.
(5) The department shall provide a subsidy to the eligible
pre-kindergarten program to increase the teacher salaries to
where the salary would be if the teachers were teaching in the
public school district.
(6) The department shall collect data and issue a report one
year after the implementation of the pilot program in accordance
with the following:
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(i) The department shall submit a report to the General
Assembly detailing the pilot program, the implementation and any
success or failure of the pilot program.
(ii) The department shall provide recommendations for the
General Assembly for improvements and revisions to the pilot
program.
(7) The department shall apply for Federal, State, private
or other non-State funds.
(8) The department shall ensure that all funds disbursed are
being used solely for increasing teacher salaries. Misused funds
must be recovered by the department.
(c) An eligible pre-kindergarten program selected for
inclusion in the pilot program shall be responsible for the
following:
(1) Providing all necessary salary and employe information
to the department.
(2) Providing proof that any funds received are solely going
to increasing teacher salaries and not toward lowering the cost
of employment for the pre-kindergarten program.
(d) 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:
"Department" shall mean the Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Eligible pre-kindergarten program" shall mean a pre-
kindergarten program operated by a school district or by an
approved provider under the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts Program
established under section 1512-D.
"Pilot program" shall mean the Pre-K Teacher Salary
Supplement Pilot Program established in subsection (a).
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Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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