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
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," providing for Bilingual Educators
Advancement Grant Program.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
article to read:
ARTICLE XII-D
BILINGUAL EDUCATORS ADVANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
Section 1201-D. Scope of article.
This article relates to the recruitment, retention and
support of bilingual certified teachers in public schools with a
shortage of bilingual teachers.
Section 1202-D. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this article
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
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context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Bilingual certified teacher." A teacher certified by the
department, including the subject area of bilingual education or
applicable academic subject, in which the teacher is to be
employed and who is fully qualified under State certification
requirements to teach in a bilingual education program in a
public school setting.
"Board." The State Board of Education.
"Department." The Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Grant program." The Bilingual Educators Advancement Grant
Program established under section 1203-D.
"School district." Any common, union-free, central high
school or city school district as defined in section 102.
"School with a bilingual teacher shortage." A public school
in which there was a shortage of bilingual certified teachers in
the previous school year and there is a projected shortage in
the current school year as determined by the secretary using
Statewide staffing data, district reports and other relevant
indicators. Districts may appeal shortage designations through a
secretary-established process.
"Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
"Year of service." Ten months of continuous full-time
service as a teacher during a school year, generally occurring
between September 1 and June 30 of the school year.
Section 1203-D. Establishment.
The Bilingual Educators Advancement Grant Program is
established in the department for awarding grants to eligible
individuals.
Section 1204-D. Application and funding.
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(a) Grant.--Grants shall be made to school districts for
bilingual certified teacher recruitment and retention
activities necessary to increase the number of bilingual
certified teachers in schools with a bilingual teacher shortage.
(b) Grant award.--Grants under subsection (a) shall be
awarded to school districts, within the limits of funds
appropriated, through a competitive process that takes into
consideration the magnitude of any shortage of bilingual,
certified teachers in the school district, the fiscal capacity
of the district and the number of new bilingual certified
teachers the school district intends to hire in the coming
school year. Grants provided under this subsection shall be used
only for the purposes enumerated in this section.
(c) Limitation.--Not more than 60% of the funds allocated
pursuant to this section shall be made available to any one
school district. State funds provided under this section shall
not supplant local funds for any purpose similar to the purposes
of this section.
(d) Application.--Applications by a school district for
funding under this section shall be filed with the department on
a form determined by the secretary, by June 1 of the base year.
School districts shall be notified of a grant award by June 30
of the base year. In any year the application and award dates
may be modified by the secretary for the reasonable
administration of the program. An application shall include a
plan by the school district for the expenditure of the funds in
each category of allowable expenses and the expenditures shall
be consistent with the plan and the provisions of this section.
(e) Award.--A person may receive only one award under this
section in a school year.
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(f) Eligibility.--To be eligible for an award under this
section, an applicant shall:
(1) be a bilingual certified teacher;
(2) agree to a service obligation of one year of service
in a school with a bilingual teacher shortage as a condition
of receiving an award under this section; and
(3) be employed for the first time as a bilingual
certified teacher in the school district.
(g) Application and selection.--The board shall determine
the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award
under the grant program. If the number of eligible applicants
exceeds the number of awards determined by the board under this
section, the board shall use an objective competitive process
based on educational qualifications to determine which eligible
applicants shall receive an award.
(h) Payment of awards.--Annual awards from funds provided
for the purpose of this section shall be paid by the board to
the award recipient. Awards received by a recipient shall not be
considered as part of the recipients salary. The initial annual
award shall be $10,000 and may be renewed each year, for up to
three additional years, provided that the recipient agrees to
one year of service as a full-time bilingual certified teacher
in a school with a bilingual teacher shortage for each year of
a renewed award and has provided satisfactory service in any
prior year in which an initial or renewed award was granted to
the recipient. No awards shall be made for less than one school
year of service and the sum of any initial and renewed awards
shall not exceed $40,000. Awards made under this section shall
be used to reimburse any educational costs, including those for
which student loans may have been taken, incurred by the
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recipient prior to receipt of the award for certification as a
teacher in a public school. The board shall develop and secure a
written agreement from the recipient outlining the service
obligation of the recipient. The agreement shall include
provisions for the recipient to repay the amount of the award to
the school district if the recipient fails to complete the
service obligation in any year where an initial or renewed award
is granted, and the repaid amounts shall be deducted from any
grant amounts due to the district from the Commonwealth under
this section. Upon a written appeal by an award recipient, the
board may provide a waiver of repayment provisions for an award
recipient who fails to complete the service requirement for
documented reasons of health or other severe hardship, as
determined by the secretary.
(i) Notification.--The board shall notify both successful
and unsuccessful applicants by September 1 of any school year
for which an initial or renewed award is provided to a teacher
under this section.
(j) Reporting.--By November 1 following the completion of
each school year, the secretary shall report to the Governor and
each member of the General Assembly regarding the program and
include:
(1) the amount of each school district's total grant
under this section;
(2) the use of the grant and number of awards granted by
type; and
(3) an analysis of the effectiveness of the program in
recruiting and retaining bilingual certified teachers in
schools.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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