Last week Governor Wolf extended the statewide school closure mandate through April 6. School districts across the Commonwealth have begun trying to transition from educational enhancement lessons to figuring out how to format instruction through distance learning platforms in the event that our schools don’t reopen before the end of the school year.
Also, last week, the PA General Assembly acted on formalizing the Department of Education’s earlier statement that waives the requirement that all public schools must be open at least 180 days for the 2019-2020 school year. Signed by the Governor and becoming Act 13 of 2020, the new law also amends the current educator evaluation system, authorizes the Secretary of Education to make broader education related decisions, and allows for teacher compensation and credits to their retirement accounts.
Below is a summary of how Act 13 addresses each area.
Act 13 Coronavirus Actions:
- Waives the requirement that all school entities be kept open for at least 180 instructional days for the 2019-2020 school year.
- No educator or school employee who was employed as of March 13, 2020 shall receive less compensation than they would have been otherwise entitled to, had the Pandemic of 2020 not occurred.
- No educator or school employee will receive less than they would have otherwise contributed to PSERS, had the Pandemic of 2020 not occurred or had the minimum instructional day requirement not been waived.
- Professional educators’ current continuing professional education requirement has been extended by one year.
- Waives the 12-week student teacher requirement as it relates to educator preparation programs.
- Waives the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Exam.
- Waives the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) exam.
- Requires that anyone responsible for the cleaning of school facilities be provided with appropriate cleaning materials and protective clothing and gear as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Pedro Rivera, the Secretary of the PA Department of Education, now has the authority to do any or all of the following:
- Order the closure of all school entities until the threat to health and safety caused by the Pandemic has ended.
- Increase the number of flexible instructional days.
- Waive the minimum number of days for prekindergarten instruction.
- Waive the minimum number of days/hours required for a career and technical education program.
