Section 15-1505 - Secretary declaration of emergencies(a) Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and in each school year thereafter, the Secretary of Education may issue a weather- related, safety-related or health-related emergency declaration on a school entity, charter school entity, county or Statewide basis under which: (1) A school entity may satisfy the one hundred eighty (180) instructional day per school year requirement in section 1501 of this act by one or more of the following options: (i) Approving, by majority vote of the governing board of the school entity, a school year with a minimum of nine hundred (900) hours of instruction at the elementary level and nine hundred ninety (990) hours of instruction at the secondary level in lieu of one hundred eighty (180) instructional days.(ii) Approving, by majority vote of the governing board of the school entity, the scheduling of additional instructional days on Saturdays to complete one hundred eighty (180) instructional days or nine hundred (900) hours of instruction at the elementary level and nine hundred ninety (990) hours of instruction at the secondary level: Provided, however, that a school entity shall not schedule more than one Saturday per month as an instructional day and shall not schedule tests orother examinations on a Saturday. Where a school entity chooses to schedule an instructional day on Saturday under the provisions of this subparagraph, the following shall apply: (A) The school entity may schedule a regular instructional day on the following Monday.(B) The school entity shall, upon the written request of a parent or guardian, excuse a student from school attendance if the student has the opportunity to receive a program of advanced instruction, to participate in academic or skills competition or to engage in leadership development activities. The request shall identify and describe the instruction, competition or leadership development activities and the dates and hours for which the absence is requested. The parent or guardian shall, following each such absence, furnish in writing to the school entity a statement attesting to the student's participation, including the dates and hours of such participation.(C) The school entity shall, upon the written notification of a parent or guardian, excuse a student from school attendance to observe or participate in a religious activity or function. A student's absence from school pursuant to this clause shall be considered an instructional day and shall not be recorded as an absence on the student's attendance record or on the record of any group or class of which the student is a member. There shall be no penalty attached for any such absences pursuant to this clause.(2) A charter school entity may satisfy the one hundred eighty (180) instructional day per school year or nine hundred (900) hours of instruction at the elementary level or nine hundred ninety (990) hours of instruction at the secondary level per school year requirement in section 1715-A through compliancewith paragraph (1)(ii); Provided, That for purposes of this paragraph, the term "school entity" as used in paragraph (1)(ii) shall include a charter school entity.(b) A school entity or charter school entity shall notify the department, on a form to be developed by the department, of any decision to use the options provided for under subsection (a).(c) No school entity or charter school entity shall receive less subsidy payments or reimbursements than it would otherwise be entitled to receive by the decision to use the options provided under subsection (a).(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or preempt any provisions of a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a school entity or charter school entity and an exclusive representative of the employes in accordance with the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the "Public Employe Relations Act."(e) 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: "Charter school entity" shall mean a charter school, regional charter school or cyber charter school.
"Department" shall mean the Department of Education of the Commonwealth.
"School entity" shall mean a school district, area career and technical school or intermediate unit.
Amended by P.L. TBD 2019 No. 76, § 24, eff. 12/30/2019.Added by P.L. TBD 2016 No. 4, § 2, eff. 4/16/2016.