Senate Bill 1216, now Act 136 of 2020, allows more flexibility for schools and educators resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are provisions of the new law:
- Delays the Keystone Exam graduation requirement or the alternative graduation project for the 2020-2021 school year.
- Allows PDE to continue to issue K-12 Special Education Certificates to students finishing those programs.
Act 136 also allows the PA Education Secretary the authority to do the following:
- Issue temporary teaching certificates for one year.
- Waive the basic skills exam requirement for teacher preparation programs until June 30, 2021.
- Issue an exceptional case permit for Level I certificates through June 30, 2021 for those who were unable to complete their Level II requirements due to the pandemic.
- Issue temporary provisional certificates if those requirements were unable to be completed due to the pandemic.
- Allow for emergency teaching permits to be extended for one year.
- Waive the annual National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) and National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) exam requirements.
- Allow for standardized testing to be excluded from teacher evaluations for the 2020-21 school year.
- Waive the Staff Development Requirements for Instructional Paraprofessionals until June 2021.
- Apply for testing waivers required under ESSA.
The Keystone Teachers Association will keep our members posted if the PA Education Secretary uses this new authority to implement the provisions above.
Vetoed Legislation Offers No Protection to School Against Pandemic Lawsuits
Before recessing for the 2019-20 legislative session, Governor Wolf vetoed House Bill 1737, known as the Coronavirus Liability Protection Bill. The bill would have made it more difficult to sue schools, health care providers, and businesses in cases where people contracted coronavirus and blamed one of those entities. The governor stated that he vetoed the legislation because it was too broad.
