HB 1991 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, providing for Bilingual Educators Advancement Grant Program.

PRINTER'S NO.   2511

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1991
                                                 Session of
                                                   2025

     INTRODUCED BY GUZMAN, CURRY, BRENNAN, GIRAL, HOHENSTEIN, HILL-
        EVANS, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, BOYD AND SANCHEZ, OCTOBER 23, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, OCTOBER 23, 2025


                                       AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
 2      act relating to the public school system, including certain
 3      provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
 4      schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
 5      laws relating thereto," providing for Bilingual Educators
 6      Advancement Grant Program.
 7      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 8   hereby enacts as follows:
 9      Section 1.     The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
10   as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
11   article to read:
12                               ARTICLE XII-D
13            BILINGUAL EDUCATORS ADVANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
14   Section 1201-D.    Scope of article.
15      This article relates to the recruitment, retention and
16   support of bilingual certified teachers in public schools with a
17   shortage of bilingual teachers.
18   Section 1202-D.    Definitions.
19      The following words and phrases when used in this article
20   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
 1   context clearly indicates otherwise:
 2      "Bilingual certified teacher."       A teacher certified by the
 3   department, including the subject area of bilingual education or
 4   applicable academic subject, in which the teacher is to be
 5   employed and who is fully qualified under State certification
 6   requirements to teach in a bilingual education program in a
 7   public school setting.
 8      "Board."     The State Board of Education.
 9      "Department."    The Department of Education of the
10   Commonwealth.
11      "Grant program."    The Bilingual Educators Advancement Grant
12   Program established under section 1203-D.
13      "School district."    Any common, union-free, central high
14   school or city school district as defined in section 102.
15      "School with a bilingual teacher shortage."      A public school
16   in which there was a shortage of bilingual certified teachers in
17   the previous school year and there is a projected shortage in
18   the current school year as determined by the secretary using
19   Statewide staffing data, district reports and other relevant
20   indicators. Districts may appeal shortage designations through a
21   secretary-established process.
22      "Secretary."    The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
23      "Year of service."    Ten months of continuous full-time
24   service as a teacher during a school year, generally occurring
25   between September 1 and June 30 of the school year.
26   Section 1203-D.    Establishment.
27      The Bilingual Educators Advancement Grant Program is
28   established in the department for awarding grants to eligible
29   individuals.
30   Section 1204-D.    Application and funding.

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 1      (a)   Grant.--Grants shall be made to school districts for
 2   bilingual certified teacher recruitment and retention
 3   activities necessary to increase the number of bilingual
 4   certified teachers in schools with a bilingual teacher shortage.
 5      (b)   Grant award.--Grants under subsection (a) shall be
 6   awarded to school districts, within the limits of funds
 7   appropriated, through a competitive process that takes into
 8   consideration the magnitude of any shortage of bilingual,
 9   certified teachers in the school district, the fiscal capacity
10   of the district and the number of new bilingual certified
11   teachers the school district intends to hire in the coming
12   school year. Grants provided under this subsection shall be used
13   only for the purposes enumerated in this section.
14      (c)   Limitation.--Not more than 60% of the funds allocated
15   pursuant to this section shall be made available to any one
16   school district. State funds provided under this section shall
17   not supplant local funds for any purpose similar to the purposes
18   of this section.
19      (d)   Application.--Applications by a school district for
20   funding under this section shall be filed with the department on
21   a form determined by the secretary, by June 1 of the base year.
22   School districts shall be notified of a grant award by June 30
23   of the base year. In any year the application and award dates
24   may be modified by the secretary for the reasonable
25   administration of the program. An application shall include a
26   plan by the school district for the expenditure of the funds in
27   each category of allowable expenses and the expenditures shall
28   be consistent with the plan and the provisions of this section.
29      (e)   Award.--A person may receive only one award under this
30   section in a school year.

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 1      (f)   Eligibility.--To be eligible for an award under this
 2   section, an applicant shall:
 3            (1)   be a bilingual certified teacher;
 4            (2)   agree to a service obligation of one year of service
 5      in a school with a bilingual teacher shortage as a condition
 6      of receiving an award under this section; and
 7            (3)   be employed for the first time as a bilingual
 8      certified teacher in the school district.
 9      (g)   Application and selection.--The board shall determine
10   the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award
11   under the grant program. If the number of eligible applicants
12   exceeds the number of awards determined by the board under this
13   section, the board shall use an objective competitive process
14   based on educational qualifications to determine which eligible
15   applicants shall receive an award.
16      (h)   Payment of awards.--Annual awards from funds provided
17   for the purpose of this section shall be paid by the board to
18   the award recipient. Awards received by a recipient shall not be
19   considered as part of the recipients salary. The initial annual
20   award shall be $10,000 and may be renewed each year, for up to
21   three additional years, provided that the recipient agrees to
22   one year of service as a full-time bilingual certified teacher
23   in a school with a bilingual teacher shortage for each year of
24   a renewed award and has provided satisfactory service in any
25   prior year in which an initial or renewed award was granted to
26   the recipient. No awards shall be made for less than one school
27   year of service and the sum of any initial and renewed awards
28   shall not exceed $40,000. Awards made under this section shall
29   be used to reimburse any educational costs, including those for
30   which student loans may have been taken, incurred by the

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 1   recipient prior to receipt of the award for certification as a
 2   teacher in a public school. The board shall develop and secure a
 3   written agreement from the recipient outlining the service
 4   obligation of the recipient. The agreement shall include
 5   provisions for the recipient to repay the amount of the award to
 6   the school district if the recipient fails to complete the
 7   service obligation in any year where an initial or renewed award
 8   is granted, and the repaid amounts shall be deducted from any
 9   grant amounts due to the district from the Commonwealth under
10   this section. Upon a written appeal by an award recipient, the
11   board may provide a waiver of repayment provisions for an award
12   recipient who fails to complete the service requirement for
13   documented reasons of health or other severe hardship, as
14   determined by the secretary.
15      (i)     Notification.--The board shall notify both successful
16   and unsuccessful applicants by September 1 of any school year
17   for which an initial or renewed award is provided to a teacher
18   under this section.
19      (j)     Reporting.--By November 1 following the completion of
20   each school year, the secretary shall report to the Governor and
21   each member of the General Assembly regarding the program and
22   include:
23            (1)   the amount of each school district's total grant
24      under this section;
25            (2)   the use of the grant and number of awards granted by
26      type; and
27            (3)   an analysis of the effectiveness of the program in
28      recruiting and retaining bilingual certified teachers in
29      schools.
30      Section 2.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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