§ 16-1607. Attendance in other districts
Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 24 P.S. EducationEffective: December 30, 2019
Effective: December 30, 2019
24 P.S. § 16-1607
§ 16-1607. Attendance in other districts
(a) Except as set forth in subsection (b), pupils residing in a school district in which no public high school is maintained may attend, during the entire term, at the expense of the school district of which they are residents, the nearest or most conveniently located high school of such class as they may desire to attend, unless the board of school directors of the district of residence shall have assigned the pupils to a high school and adequate transportation is provided thereto. Pupils who reside in a school district in which no public high school, other than a career and technical high school is maintained, may attend, during the entire term, the nearest or most conveniently located academic high school. In any district which maintains a high school whose program of studies terminates before the end of the twelfth year, pupils who have satisfactorily completed the program of studies there available in other than career and technical schools or departments, or have completed a program of studies equivalent to said program of studies in some other school or schools, may attend, at the expense of the school district in which they live, and for the purpose of pursuing academic studies of a higher grade, the nearest or most conveniently located high school of such type as they may desire to attend giving further high school work.
(b) If a third class school district operating under a special board of control pursuant to section 6921 has, with the approval of the Secretary of Education, curtailed its educational program by eliminating its high school and has not assigned its high school pupils to another school district and provided adequate transportation in a manner under subsection (a), the secretary shall have the following authority:
(1) To designate two or more school districts, which shall accept on a tuition basis the high school students of the distressed school district, so long as a designated school district's border is no more than three (3) miles from the border of the distressed school district. The designation under this paragraph shall occur no later than thirty (30) days after receiving the approval of the secretary to curtail its educational program by the elimination of its high school, provided, however, that if any school district meets the criteria of this subsection on the effective date of this subsection, the designation of school districts shall occur no later than thirty (30) days after the effective date of this subsection.2
(3) To establish the per-pupil tuition rate that a school district designated under paragraph (1) shall receive for each reassigned student in a regular or special education program. For the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, the tuition rate established under this paragraph may not exceed the product of:
(4) For the 2012-2013 school year and each school year thereafter, the per pupil tuition rate that a school district designated under paragraph (1) shall receive for each reassigned student in a regular or special education program shall be the greater of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or the product of:
(B) the index set pursuant to the act of June 27, 2006 (1st Sp.Sess., P.L. 1873, No. 1),3 known as the “Taxpayer Relief Act,” for the distressed school district.
(ii) Employes in the pool created under clause (i) shall be offered employment by any school district receiving students who have been reassigned pursuant to subsection (b) whenever that school district has a vacancy for a position that an employe in the pool is certified to fill, provided that no employe of the school district in which the vacancy exists, including a suspended or demoted employe, has a right to such vacancy under this act or the collective bargaining agreement of that school district.
(2) Employes hired from the pool as provided under this subsection shall be credited by the hiring school district for all sick leave accumulated in the school district that has eliminated its high school program and shall be credited for years of service in the school district that has eliminated its high school program for purposes of salary schedule placement. Temporary professional and professional employes shall further be credited for their years of service in the school district that has eliminated its high school program for purposes of sabbatical leave eligibility, suspension and realignment rights and eligibility for any retirement incentives or severance payments in a hiring school district.
(c) A school district designated under subsection (b)(1) shall provide transportation to reassigned students to its high school and shall be eligible for transportation reimbursement in a manner consistent with section 2541.4
(d) By August 1 of the year in which a school district is designated under subsection (b)(1) and each August 1 thereafter, the secretary shall publish on the Internet website of the Department of Education and submit to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the following information:
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of statute, regulation, guideline, directive, decision or agreement to the contrary, a school district which is designated under subsection (b)(1) may not be required to include the students in its public school enrollment report for the purposes of determining an interscholastic sports classification by a private entity that is organized under the laws of this Commonwealth to administer interscholastic athletics.
(f) A student assigned to a school district designated under subsection (b)(1) shall be included in the average daily membership of the student's school district of residence for the purpose of providing basic education funding allocations and special education funding payments pursuant to Article XXV.5
(g) By February 1 of each year, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee shall submit an annual report to the chairman and minority chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the Education Committee of the Senate and to the chairman and minority chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the Education Committee of the House of Representatives summarizing the financial and academic status of a distressed school district under this section and include an audit of its accounts for the immediately preceding school year.
(h) For the two (2) consecutive school years following designation under subsection (b)(1), a school district designated under subsection (b)(1) shall receive an additional per-pupil sum of five hundred dollars ($500) for students reassigned pursuant to this section. These additional funds shall be used for transition services to students, including student mentoring, tutoring, employee in-service programs designed to assist transitioning students and security expenditures.
(h.1) For the two (2) consecutive school years following the effective date of this subsection,6 a school district designated under subsection (b)(1) shall receive an additional per-pupil sum of five hundred ($500) dollars for students reassigned and entering grades seven, eight and nine pursuant to this section. These additional funds shall be used for transition services to students, including student mentoring, tutoring, employe in-service programs designed to assist transition students and security expenditures.
Credits
1949, March 10, P.L. 30, No. 14, art. XVI, § 1607. Amended 1959, Aug. 11, P.L. 683, § 1; 2010, Nov. 23, P.L. 1350, No. 123, § 3, imd. effective; 2012, June 30, P.L. 684, No. 82, § 22, effective July 1, 2012; 2012, July 12, P.L. 1142, No. 141, § 17, imd. effective; 2019, Oct. 30, P.L. 460, No. 76, § 35, effective in 60 days [Dec. 30, 2019].
Footnotes
24 P.S. § 6-692.
Subsec. (b) added by 2010, Nov. 23, P.L. 1350, No. 123, § 3, imd. effective.
53 P.S. § 6926.101 et seq.
24 P.S. § 25-2541.
24 P.S. § 25-2501 et seq.
Subsec. (h.1) added by 2012, June 30, P.L. 684, No. 82, § 22, effective July 1, 2012.
24 P.S. § 16-1607, PA ST 24 P.S. § 16-1607
Current through 2023 Regular Session Act 1. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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